From the Ritz to the Rubble
by Obscenely.Yours
Summary: He's arrogant. She's stubborn. He's a leather biker jacket and stale alcohol tainted with exhaust. She's a glass of fire whiskey on the rocks wreathed in cigarette smoke. They're both a thorn in the other's side. Boy, meet girl. [SB&OC, r&r!]
1. Chapter 1

**Alright. This right here started out as my last-ditch attempt to run screaming from the Mary Sues that kept finding their way into my writing, and gradually the plot took on a life of its own. ****Now, it's a new story. A love story. A war story. A story about the Marauders, and especially about Sirius Black and the girl that thwarted his best-laid plans.**

**It's cheesy, it's fluffy, it's funny and dramatic. And it's gonna be damn good, so how's about some reviews!**

**A**

**Chapter 1**

Yellow light from the garage spilled onto the driveway, struggling against the night to illuminate the approaching dusk. Soft, low notes came tumbling out with the light, a muted jazz tune plucked out on an electric bass and accompanied by a husky hum. Lily Evans walked slowly up the sidewalk in front of the nondescript suburban house so much like her own, being very careful not to scuff her sneakers on the sidewalk and tip off the musician- she knew that Rani would be in a strange mood, if she had resorted to playing jazz. When driving guitar or raucous drums came out of the garage, or a bass sound so powerful the metal door vibrated, Lily knew it was a good day. If Ra had her earphones on, or worse, the acoustic guitar out, she knew enough to take it as a bad sign.

Lily tiptoed lightly up the driveway to the garage, bringing in view as she did so the silhouettes of a slightly beat up Mustang, a halfway dismantled drum set, a foosball table, a rusty refrigerator, and one of her best friends in the world.

Rani Callida Shacklebolt stood in the space left open by the parked Mustang, her tall, lean frame resting all its weight easily on one foot as she bent her head over a bright purple bass guitar, long fingers sliding smoothly over the strings. Her long dark hair was dreaded and braided randomly, and parts of it fell into her face despite being pulled into a loose ponytail, the wild mess hiding her look of concentration. Lily paused on the threshold of the garage, so far unnoticed because of the huge headphones clamped over Rani's ears, and then cleared her throat very loudly.

Rani didn't look up.

Lily repeated the action, then knocked sharply on the side of the garage door.

Nothing.

Lily heaved a sigh, rolled her eyes, then marched into the garage and tapped her friend hard on the shoulder. Rani jumped about a mile, the wandering notes of the bass giving a pained squeal and then falling silent as she ripped off her headphones and stared at Lily, looking indignant.

"LILY! Bloody hell, were you _trying_ to give your best mate a heart attack?" she demanded, glaring at her with large blue-black eyes. Lily couldn't repress a giggle, tossing her red hair back and grinning evilly.

"You called me Lily," she pointed out gleefully. "You haven't done that since about fourth year."

"Yes, well, that gives you proof just how much you scared the _crap_ out of me just then, _Evans_," Rani retorted, wrinkling her nose at her friend. "How long were you standing there, anyway?" she added suspiciously. Lily, choosing to ignore the question in case she was feeling touchy, was provided with the perfect change of subject as she studied Rani's high-cheek-boned face and long, straight nose.

"Is that a_ stud _in your left nostril, Rani?"

"Well, it's not just a very sparkly bogey, Evans." Lily gave a snort and surveyed the tiny sapphire nose ring closer.

"Your parents actually let you get it?" she demanded in disbelief.

"No," Rani answered, smirking. "But they're letting me keep it, mostly because I don't let my mum get close enough to snatch it out. Now if you're done looking up my nostrils, maybe you want to tell me why you're here?" Lily grinned at her, then sat down on the large amp near the drum set.

"You all packed?" she asked.

"Guess so," Rani said evasively, unplugging her guitar and starting to put it back in its case. Lily took no notice of her unenthusiastic tone and bounced her heels happily against the floor.

"I can't _wait_ to get back. Petunia's driving me up the wall, and Severus is becoming more and more of a little slimeball. If it wasn't for you, I'd be going starkers here."

"Glad I could help," Rani commented, taking a seat on the hood of her rusty green Mustang after leaning her bass up against it. Lily stopped bouncing her heels and stared at her friend, exasperated.

"Oh come _on!_ You can't tell me you aren't the _least _bit looking forward to going back to Hogwarts?" Rani surveyed Lily with the flat, black, penetrating expression that she was so good at, with no emotion besides slight haughtiness in her face. Lily raised an eyebrow at her in return. "Well?"

"Lily, you know I hate school. I barely scrape by in every subject but Potions. Well, and Care of Magical Creatures, but that doesn't count. I'm horrible at magic. Kingsley got all the talent- he's better than me, and he's only going to be a fifth-year." Rani kicked her tires angrily with one scuffed Converse. "And I love all my friends, don't get me wrong, but we've been going to school together for six whole years, going on seven. I'm _tired_ of Hogwarts." Lily rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Rani, would you honestly know what to do with yourself if you _didn't_ go to Hogwarts? What's interesting in the Muggle world, really? What would you _do?_" Rani gave a little shrug, but her eyes had hardened.

"Play music- everything but my acoustic and drums don't do crap around Hogwarts. Travel- how about finally getting this Mustang to run? Find a club to DJ for. Be a tech for some band on tour. I already hang out with the university crowd around here; maybe I'd take some classes with them. I dunno, I could do tons of stuff in the Muggle world better than I could in the Wizarding one."

"Alright, fair enough, but think of me, Ra! What will I do without you? I'll be defenseless!"

"Against what? Snape? Potter? I'm not so sure you need a defense," she sniggered. Lily blanched and her bright green eyes narrowed.

"You take that back!"

"Shan't." Lily glared for a moment, then said pointedly:

"Well, maybe _that'll_ be a reason for you to come back, besides the fact that you have to- I'm sure Potter is looking forward to seeing-"

"Oh shut it, Evans. Potter and I haven't done anything more than pass frog spawn to each other during Potions since fourth year, and you know it. Besides, it's not _me_ he's after." Lily huffed and stood up.

"Well fine then, if you're going to be that way, you can sit by yourself on the train tomorrow!" Rani smiled and let her get beyond the garage door before she said:

"Well, I _was_ going to suggest going in and watching Sleeping Beauty like we have every night before school starts since we were six, but I guess I'll just go to bed instead." Lily paused and turned slowly.

"Will there be popcorn involved?"

"Likely."

"Do you have a stash of Chocolate Frogs?"

"You can thank my little brother for that." Lily narrowed her eyes once more, then turned and flounced back inside.

"Okay then, I can stay out until midnight," she declared, opening the door to the house without any hesitation and walking straight in. Smiling slightly, Rani slid off the hood and followed her, closing the garage door behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"_The wheels on the bus go round and round…_" Rani muttered darkly, crammed into the backseat of the Evans minivan between her brother and their trunks as they neared King's Cross Station. Lily and her mother sat in the middle seats with more luggage and Lily's cat, Wicked, sitting on her lap. Rani was quite fond of that cat- after all, Lily had named it last year after Rani's favorite exclamation, "_wicked!" _Well, that and the cat's unfortunate habit of tearing up anything and everything left unattended in the vicinity. Mr. Evans was, of course, driving with a sulky Petunia perched next to him in the passenger seat, smacking her gum and tapping her long fake nails annoyingly against the door.

Lily snorted at Rani's cynicism, but Kingsley shot her a reproving look over his slender rectangular glasses. Rani heaved a huge sigh- only fifteen, and her brother was already more serious about school and his future than most people in her year. There was no hope for the boy.

"Thanks again, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, for giving us a ride," he said loudly, covering up for Rani's snide little song on the off chance that one of the adults had heard it.

"Don't worry, dear," Lily's mum responded kindly. "We're just sorry your parents work so hard. It's a good thing they opted for Muggle living, or we might never have caught sight of them- they're gone so often!" _Not to mention, a couple of the more anti-Auror inclined wizards might have caught up with us in the Wizarding world,_ Rani added silently.

"Here we are, everybody," Mr. Evans said as he swung into a parking spot right in front of the station. "I'll help you unload, shall I?"

"You're not coming in, Dad?" Lily asked. Both of her parents shot a look at each other, then at Petunia, who was glowering out the window at the looming station building and pointedly ignoring the bustle of activity in the backseat.

"Umm… I don't think so, dear," Mrs. Evans answered delicately. "We'll say goodbye out here- I think you're old enough to get through the barrier on your own, right?" Lily also cast a far less considerate look at her sister, then said flippantly:

"Whatever."

"We really do appreciate your help," Rani jumped in quickly, trying to break the sudden tense atmosphere as they worked on dragging their trunks out of the back.

"It's no problem, really dears," Mrs. Evans insisted as she and her husband got out of the car to say goodbye. Lily hugged them both, glaring over her father's shoulder at Petunia, who had remained stubbornly in the car. Trying to avoid being present at the row that happened between the Evans's and Petunia _every_ year as they headed off to King's Cross, Rani quickly did her round of hugs. Kingsley followed suit, shaking Mr. Evans' hand solemnly instead of embracing him. Rani rolled her eyes.

"Have a good year, everyone!" Mrs. Evans called as Rani, Lily, and Kingsley started to walk away.

"Send us letters- the neighbors have nearly got used to the owls, they can handle it!" Mr. Evans joked.

"It's not the owls that bother the neighbors, it's the streaky white reminders of their presence," Lily muttered as the three of them made their way into the station, pushing their trunks and Wicked's carrier in front of them.

* * *

"Oh look, Severus has added another inch to his nose and several more buckets of grease to his hair over the summer," Lily said snidely as they made their way through the smoky Platform 9 ¾. Rani opened her mouth to remark how interesting it was that Severus was the first person Lily singled out, then thought better of it and shut it again.

"Oh great," Kingsley groaned, "Young love."

"Huh?" Kingsley jerked his head towards two people snuggling nearby on the platform.

"Looks like Bella and Malfoy finally got together- it was looking inevitable at the end of last year, anyway," he observed, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Ugh, I bet darling _Cissy_ is happy about that," Lily grimaced. "Fifth year- it's brimful of scandalous soap opera material."

"Can we please get on the train? If those two snog one more time in public, I think I'm going to be sick," Rani drawled, leading their little bunch towards the open carriages. "Oi, little bro, don't you have some friends you could go bum around with?"

"Well, I feel loved," Kingsley sniffed. "There's Regulus, anyways. I'll get out of your knotted bird's nest hair then, shall I?"

"It is _not_ a bird's nest, you little-" Rani began, starting after her brother before Lily put a restraining hand on her shoulder, laughing. "Little twit," Rani grumbled, heaving her trunk onto the carriage as Kingsley made his way through the crowd towards a pale skinny boy with short, spiky black hair that was bleached at the tips. They followed their trunks inside and began making their way along the crowded corridor.

"Your hair looks fine, Ra," Lily assured her. "Very rocker-chic. And why does he hang around with that little squirrel, anyway? Isn't he a Slytherin?"

"Don't ask me- you know the rivalry between Hufflepuff and Slytherin isn't nearly as fierce as between you lot. Still, it does sort of go against nature, doesn't it?"

"You know what _really_ goes against nature? The fact that a nice, handsome boy like Sirius is actually related to that twitchy little thing," said a deep male voice from right behind them, accompanied by a soft whiff of expensive cologne. Rani cast a look sideways at Lily's face, then fought to control her giggles at her mate's expression of horror as she turned in the cramped space to look back into the mischievous hazel eyes of James Potter. "Wotcha, Potter," Rani greeted casually, ignoring the way Lily was refusing to turn all the way around and look Potter in the face. "How long have you been listening in, then?"

"I wasn't listening in, I was getting on the train like everyone else. And searching for Regulus' more handsome, roguish, and charming counterpart, by the way- have you seen him?"

"I'd assume the perfect man you just described is in his mansion on the isle of 'Does Not Exist'," Rani snorted. "As far as Regulus' brother is concerned, I haven't seen him, either."

"Ouch, Shacklebolt," Potter said, clutching a hand over his heart as though wounded. "What about you, Evans, have you spotted-"

"I haven't seen your obnoxious little partner-in-crime, Potter, so I'd try a different carriage if I were you," Lily interrupted coldly, still not looking Potter in the eye, although if a boy had been staring at Rani with an intensity such as that, she knew _she'd _be feeling the pressure. Potter appeared slightly hurt as Lily grabbed Rani's hand and tugged her down the corridor, saying:

"Come on, Ra, let's go find a compartment. I thought I saw Alice head this way, and I know I spotted Andromeda on the platform." Rani was hauled off by the determined Lily with barely enough time to cast a sympathetic backward glance at Potter, who remained where he stood, looking frustrated.

"Well, _that_ was a bit of an overreaction," Rani remarked conversationally as Lily found an empty compartment and stomped into it, practically tossing her heavy trunk into the luggage rack and throwing herself into a seat.

"What was?" Lily asked with a very poor imitation of innocence, considering the way her nostrils flared and the color was high in her cheeks.

"Oh. Uh-huh, yeah. Okay," Rani said in utter disbelief, but decided not to pester Lily about it further for fear of being jinxed. She opted instead to store her trunk and spread out full-length on the remaining seats, sighing contentedly as the train gave a lurch and began to move slowly out of the station. "Were you serious about seeing Alice and Andromeda? Especially Andromeda. She promised she'd find me first thing," she asked Lily, propping up her feet.

"Alice was in some compartment already curled up with Frank," Lily answered, one hand thrown melodramatically over her eyes as she slumped in her seat. "And no, I haven't the foggiest idea where Andromeda got off to."

"Sheesh, what's with everyone pairing up this year?" Rani demanded disbelievingly. "Alice and Frank, Lucious and Bellatrix, I wouldn't be surprised if Andromeda is off with some boy, all thought of her summer romance with that Muggle out the window…" Lily snorted.

"Yeah, wonder how long that one'll last," she drawled, unclear if she was referring to Malfoy and the Black girl or Andromeda's Muggle crush. "Seventh year _is_ when everyone starts dating, I've noticed. Getting engaged after Hogwarts, and all that rubbish. Ridiculous. Boyfriend's are overrated, anyway."

"Hmm," Rani grunted noncommittally. In her opinion, Lily was protesting a bit too much for her to be entirely believable- Rani had her theories concerning both James Potter and Severus Snape. Potter was blatantly after Lily, and she didn't believe for one second that Lily didn't love it. As for Severus, Lily had known him for longer than she had known Rani. Somehow, no matter how odious Snape had become, she wasn't entirely sure that Lily hated him quite as much as she claimed to.

"…For god's sake, I know my troll of an aunt has been keeping a tight hold on her purse strings, Sirius, but you'd _think_ you could manage enough money to buy a stupid Chocolate Cauldron!" a very familiar, very annoyed female voice huffed, drawing near to their compartment. "Now I've got to find a place to put this stupid trunk down so I can dig clear to the bottom- oh thank god!" The door slid open violently, as Lily and Rani had known it would, and the curvaceous figure of Rani's other best friend, Andromeda Black, shoved her trunk in the compartment with her foot before following after. "_There_ you two are! I was waylaid by Alice- she stuck her head out of a different compartment looking for you, Lily. And then these three buffoons got hold of me- scratch that, _four_ buffoons- and my useless cousin had to go and ask me for money. Like I'm the bloody bank!" Andromeda flung an annoyed look back over her shoulder, gave her long chestnut hair a little toss, and bent over her trunk, rummaging around.

Rani and Lily followed Andromeda's annoyed glance towards the door of the compartment, where the barely visible faces of Lupin and Pettigrew were stationed behind Potter out in the corridor. Potter was putting on his best 'cool' face as he leant against the window, slipping up now and then by glancing at Lily to see if she was buying it. (Incidentally, Lily had suddenly buried her face in an issue of Witch Weekly and clearly wasn't.) Front and center, leaning casually against the doorway and clad in a gray t-shirt and designer jeans, was tall, tan, darkly handsome Sirius Black. Black was laughing silently behind his cousin's back, exchanging smirks with Potter, acting the usual arrogant prat… And then all of a sudden he wasn't: the smile slid slowly off his face as he caught Rani's gaze with the tiniest of double takes and held it there, the obsidian of his eyes unblinking as he stared at her.

"Finally! Here, you no-good layabout, go stuff your face with all the sweets you want," Andromeda exclaimed, straightening up and shoving a few coins into Black's hand. He finally blinked and shook his head a bit, appearing to force himself to focus on his cousin two feet from his nose.

"Oh… yeah…Yeah, thanks 'Dromeda," he said, his voice strong, but stealing another quick glance at Rani. Rani, at the moment, was sincerely hoping the tingling rush she felt in her neck and cheeks wasn't visible, and that her increased heart rate was something related to too much junk food and not enough exercise, rather than the very obvious and clichéd 'every-girl's-obsession' Sirius Black.

"No problem. Get out," Andromeda said, shoving Black firmly on his chest so he stumbled out into the corridor and then slamming the door. She turned to eye Lily and Rani, who had both been staring the entire time, Lily watching sneakily over her magazine. "You know he pulled that scam just so his mate could get the chance to hang around you, Lily, right?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Oh, shut up," Lily muttered, chucking one of Wicked's cat treats at her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks very much to my reviewers, and to the many people who added this story to their update/favs lists! Somebody did bring up a good point, though- Andromeda technically should be way older than the Marauders. However, I can deal with this in the story if you all can- so what do you think? Should I create a new best friend, or can I leave it? Let me know!**

**PS: Thanks so much for the encouragement and for pointing out the Dumbledore error- it's all fixed!**

**Chapter 3**

"I wonder what this Quidditch business is gonna end up as this year, eh, Padfoot? I mean, there's gonna be some switching around of players now that the seventh years are out. Who do you reckon's gonna replace the Hufflepuff Beaters? Padfoot?" James waved a hand in front of Sirius's glazed face. "Oi, Padfoot!"

"Wha-?" Sirius said, only half glancing at James. "Oh, I dunno. Who can tell?" he answered vaguely, returning to his staring across the Great Hall. Remus exchanged looks with James, and then they both leaned in closer to Sirius, following his line of sight across the House tables. He seemed to be staring in the Ravenclaw direction.

"Euch, Sirius mate, please tell me you're not going all doe eyed at your own _cousin_," James said, making a retching noise. Peter giggled as Sirius shot a poisonous look in his direction, but otherwise ignored the comment.

"Don't be stupid, James, it's not Andromeda that's got Padfoot all bothered - it's who's sitting _next_ to Andromeda," Moony said with a knowing smirk. _That_ got Sirius's attention. He coughed, shook his head slightly, and returned his attention determinedly to his steak and dumplings.

"It isn't," he muttered unconvincingly to his plate. Wormtail looked at Remus, Remus looked at James, and all three of them looked once more to Ravenclaw.

"Who, Melinda?" Wormtail squeaked in a revolted voice, a little slow on the uptake.

"No, you idiot- to the right," James told him, rolling his eyes. He tilted his head to one side, squinting, regarding the person Padfoot had been fixated on for a good thirty seconds (which had to be some sort of record for his attention span).

"I can see what you mean, Padfoot, you know? She's sort of fierce-looking, that one. Harsh beauty. But a word to the wise, from personal experience- she's smart. Probably smarter than you, anyway," he said of Rani Shacklebolt, who was perched on a bench next to Sirius's cousin, trying to shoot peas into the mouth of a boy sitting opposite her.

"Shut up, James," Sirius growled to his dumplings. "You sure this isn't _Evans_ you're describing?" _That_ shut Prongs up. He clamped his mouth shut and stabbed viciously at his steak, and Remus and Peter went calmly back to eating in silence as well, a grin playing around both their faces. Sirius couldn't stop himself stealing one last glance up from his plate and across the room, where Shacklebolt was laughing along with 'Dromeda over some joke, tossing her hair back so the various charms and colorful thread wrapped into her braids sparkled in the candlelight. Then he forced his gaze away and went back to brooding.

For the past two hours, he couldn't get the image out of his head of her on the train. He had been standing there, laughing at his cousin (because he had had plenty of Sickles all along, and it really was a ploy to get James near Evans), and then she had hit him like a train wreck.

Not literally smacked him (which he had seen her do to James on one memorable occasion), but the sight of her, Shacklebolt, was like a physical jolt: spread out full length with her long ripped-jean-clad legs crossed, a faded purple Horntails concert tee stretched tight across her skinny torso and her wild ropes of hair sort of pulled to one side. Her hands were clasped behind her long neck, Sirius's attention drawn automatically to the dark rich coffee color of her skin against the hemp bracelets on her arms. She had gotten a nose ring over the summer that suited her _extremely_ well, and as Sirius kept replaying his vision over and over he added in more details of the scene that could very well have been figments of his imagination. The nose ring glinted slightly. She arched her back the slightest bit and raised an eyebrow as she surveyed him. She had a leather biker jacket over her arm and was mounting a motorcycle, scantily clad in a bikini, as a random breeze tossed her hair about her face.

Sirius shook his head violently, dropped his fork with a clang, and kneaded his eyes with one hand, trying to snap out of this train of thought. Oh god, what had gotten into him? Girls didn't affect him this way. Actually, it was usually the other way around with him and girls. So why was he suddenly hallucinating? The fact of the matter was that Shacklebolt had sat there and regarded him coolly through big deep blue eyes, half shut, just as she had every time she had seen him for the past six years. His cousin's best friend, James's ex-girlfriend- why had she suddenly hit him so hard?

"So when did this whole Bellatrix-Lucius thing start, Sirius? Sometime over the summer?" Lupin asked him, observing the Slytherin table over the pitcher of pumpkin juice. Sirius stopped rubbing his eyes and looked up.

"What? Oh, yeah. Started up right around mid-August, I think. They had a right little tiff, let me tell you," he chuckled, recalling the near-catfight to memory.

"Who?"

"Narcissa and Bella. Narcissa got wind of it while they were shopping in Diagon Alley, and James and I were around to witness the revelation, remember Prongs?"

"Oh yeah," James sniggered. "How could I forget? She was screaming something about a 'vicious, backstabbing little Kneazle'. Perfect description of Bella, if I do say so myself."

"Pity she's so pretty," Remus sighed. "It's wasted on someone with the personality of a viper." Sirius stared at him.

"Um, Moony, please tell me you did not just say my evil cousin number one is pretty."

"Scratch the 'your cousin' part- he actually made a comment on a girl's appearance," Prongs pointed out gleefully.

"Well, she is," Moony said defiantly, "And I also said that she's got the personality of a large venomous snake. Why is nobody surprised by that part of it?" No one had time to reply as the Great Hall slowly fell silent, signaling that someone was standing to speak. The Marauders looked up to survey Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, his fingertips resting lightly on the table as he looked back at all the upturned faces through his thin glasses.

"Evening everyone!" he called over the din, raising one hand above his head. The remainder of the murmurings died down. "I cannot tell you how excited I am to have you all here once more for another year at Hogwarts!" he began, smiling warmly. "I welcome both the old and the new faces among us. There are some announcements for the year…" Despite Dumbledore's commanding presence, Sirius's attention started to drift once more, not back to girls, but onward to his bed. His dessert was by this time sitting happily in his stomach, and his head was starting to nod on his neck like Nearly Headless Nick's.

* * *

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again- whoever thought of having Potions first thing on a Monday ought to be jinxed," James said, almost, but not quite, whining.

"You've said it about a hundred times, Padfoot, but it doesn't make the hour any later," Remus told him, shifting his book bag to the other side.

"I envy Wormtail," James went on, as though he hadn't heard Moony. "He gets to sleep in."

"Yes, and he also gets to gamble with his chances of getting a decent job because he didn't take seventh-year potions," Remus pointed out. James fell silent, grudgingly accepting of this point.

Sirius said nothing, holding a parchment up against the wall and scribbling on it furiously. "What was the answer to number five?" he demanded as the door to the Potions dungeon swung open and people started making their way in.

"Three parts dragon flesh, one part moonstone," Remus answered for him, sounding weary. "And a dash of pepper."

"Is this a potion or dinner?" James quipped as Sirius finished his hurried writing just in time to find a seat in the classroom. James led Remus and Sirius straight to a table behind Andromeda and a girl with long, auburn hair that was just now setting up her scales for the class. Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing of his beeline for the seat behind Lily Evans, since at that moment Professor Slughorn entered the room and waddled, more than walked, to the front.

"A merry Monday to you all!" he boomed. "I have here the enchanting little elixirs you began last class- as the instructions are up on the board, I'll leave you all to finishing them, shall I?" The class murmured its consent and began to move, selecting the various ingredients they would need and prodding the flames at the base of their cauldrons. "Miss Shacklebolt!" Slughorn called again over the rustlings of the class. Sirius glanced up to find Shacklebolt walking quickly into the room to deposit her bag into the chair next to Evans, still looking half asleep. "Is there a reason you are late?" Shacklebolt looked up at him guiltily.

"Um… a second-year wanted to ask me what I knew about Cheering Charms?" she tried, not looking convinced herself. Slughorn eyed her balefully. "Alright, so I overslept," she admitted, glancing down.

"Hmm," Slughorn said. "Well, in that case, I'm afraid Ravenclaw will have to lose-"

"-But only because this bloody Darkfire Draft refused to separate out properly once I had bottled it last night- I had to stay up late to keep an eye on it and make sure it didn't explode," Shacklebolt continued, holding up a vial filled with what looked like dark purple flames at the bottom and a clear liquid on top. The class was silent, and Slughorn stopped midsentence, staring at her.

"You- you finished the Darkfire? I haven't even given you all the second set of instructions!" She shrugged.

"They're in the book." Slughorn blinked at her, looking immensely impressed.

"Well then, I'm afraid Ravenclaw will have to _gain_ twenty points. Well done, Miss Shacklebolt- most impressive. You may work on other things, as long as it doesn't disturb the other students." He gave a sanctimonious little nod and began pacing among the cauldrons, answering questions about the difficult Darkfire Draft. Sirius watched Evans lean over and mutter:

"Never mind the fact that you finished that potion the Thursday night he assigned it, and you just happen to be a lazy morning person." Shacklebolt grinned and elbowed her sharply in the ribs. Sirius snorted derisively and continued crushing his sprigs of dried rosemary and nightshade.

"Oi, Evans," James said fifteen minutes later. "D'you think I could have a drop of your essence of murtlap?" Sirius glanced up to see Evans acting pointedly deaf and Andromeda smirking widely. Rani Shacklebolt, however, turned around in her seat to survey the boys' table. Her dark eyes met Sirius's and she raised one eyebrow.

"Elements aren't fond of being bottled up and magically altered, Black, and that Darkfire's just about had it- it'll explode in another ten seconds are so," she told him conversationally. Sirius held the vial up and shook it nonchalantly. The dark purple contents swirled.

"Don't be stupid, I've done absolutely everything the book-" _POP!_ With a sharp tinkling exclamation, the vial exploded, coating Sirius's hand in the syrupy mixture and immediately setting it alight. Sirius stood for a moment in shock as roars of laughter erupted around him, eyeing his flickering fingers that now burned with the dark blue flame that had become his skin. He looked up at Shacklebolt, who was regarding the tip of one of her dreadlocks that was now similarly alight, tilting her head to one side and looking completely unconcerned. She lifted her gaze briefly to meet Sirius's.

"You forgot the pixie fangs," she said matter-of-factly. "And I told you so."


	4. Chapter 4

**I've decided to keep Andromeda, mostly because I think she's a BAMF ;-) Thanks to all for the encouragement, & enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

"This is just _not_ my day, is it?" Rani sighed, dropping her head into her hands after she had landed on her butt for the third time that Transfiguration class. They were trying to practice giving themselves feathers instead of hair, but it kept on going horribly wrong for some reason. Not to mention she had overslept, had her hair catch on fire (it was still smoldering), spilled the pumpkin juice at lunch, and the strap on her new book bag had already broken on her way to class.

"You'll get it, promise," Andromeda said, giving her a small smile and offering a hand. Rani eyed her as she pulled herself up once again.

"What's wrong with you? You look pale."

"I don't think the fumes in Potions agreed with me," Andromeda said with a grimace. "And eating lunch right after didn't help. I'll be fine."

"If you say so. I think you should go see-"

"Miss Shacklebolt! A word, if you please!" Professor McGonagall called over the din of practicing incantations. Andromeda gave her a sympathetic look as Rani resigned herself to approaching the Professor's desk.

"Miss Shacklebolt," McGonagall said in lowered tones as she drew near. "I'm aware that it is only partway through the second week of school, but you are still having troubles with spells that should be fifth or sixth year." Rani was quite aware of this, and felt the heat of embarrassment and resentment creeping up her neck.

"Yes Professor," was all she said.

"Well, Rani, have you ever considered a study partner? A sort of tutor that will practice with you every day, beyond just what we do in class or what I help you with?" Rani stared at the woman for awhile, aware that she was trying to help her save her grade, but resenting the fact that she was being singled out as the stupid kid who didn't get it.

"I haven't really thought about it," she answered shortly.

"Well," McGonagall continued. "I have an idea for you, to help you shape up." Rani tried not to make it too obvious she was clenching her teeth. "One of the Gryffindors in my other seventh year Transfiguration, Remus Lupin, is an amazing student in pretty much any area you can think of. Why don't I suggest to him that you two meet in the library two or three times a week to go over what we cover in class? I really think it would help you improve." Rani stared at her. Lupin? She didn't mind Lupin, but honestly, she hadn't talked to him much since fourth year. Why couldn't she and Andromeda just practice? Or she and Lily? Although it was possible McGonagall was aware no actual work would get done in these situations. So all she said was:

"Sounds great, Professor, thanks. Starting next Monday would work out, if you could pass along the message to Lu- Remus."

"Excellent, I'll let him know," the Professor said in satisfaction, going back to writing on a piece of parchment stretched out in front of her.

"Really, really not my day," Rani muttered under her breath as she turned to walk back to her spot.

* * *

"Wotcha, Yaxley. Anyone sitting here?" Rani, not bothering to wait for and answer, dropped her bag in the empty seat at the library table and starting digging around in it for her quills.

"Apparently now there is," the tall, dark-eyed youth already seated said, smiling at her. "How're you doing, Shacklebolt?"

"Life's wicked, Yaxley, let me tell you," she answered sarcastically. "What about you, Avery?" The skinny brown-haired boy sitting next to Yaxley glanced up.

"Hellish, actually. Yaxley's got to help me with this Potion recipe; that's how bad it's gotten."

"You know it's awful when Yaxley is your hope," Rani agreed, grinning. "That's 5/8ths ladleful, by the way, not 4/5ths." Avery gave a nod of thanks and carefully crossed out the incorrect measurement.

"You done the Charms practical report yet, by the way?" she asked Yaxley. He shook his head, glanced up, and said:

"Hey, Snape, you done the charms?" Rani followed his gaze to find a gangly, black-haired, awkward looking teenager approaching the table.

"No," he answered shortly as he reached them, eying Rani with a look of distinct mistrust. She, knowing exactly what was going through his mind, raised an eyebrow at him as she set her inkpot decisively on the tabletop.

"Look Snape, whatever grudge you and Evans hold between you is your own damn business- as long as you don't ever call her Mudblood in my presence again, I have no intention of getting dragged into it. So you're welcome to sit with us, but I have no notions of moving just because you're a little squeamish," she stated boldly, spearing the boy with her gaze. He blinked slightly, seemed to consider her for awhile, and finally set his books down near them.

"So, you're not going to hex me again and dunk me in the lake?"

"Only if you're stupid enough to go flinging around dirty words like Mudblood."

"Fair enough," he said, and bent his (rather unwashed) head over his work. Rani exchanged looks with Yaxley and suppressed a satisfied grin. She had never quite gotten why people thought Slytherins were so slippery- she had always considered them ridiculously easy to figure out. And if you understood them, it was easy enough to live together in relative peace.

"Where's Mulciber?"

"Detention," Snape answered, already puzzling out an Arithmancy problem.

"This early in the year?"

"He got smart with McGonagall."

"Ouch."

Their little group had managed a solid hour of actual studying when they were interrupted once again by a voice addressing their table.

"Oi, you lot," Sirius Black said gruffly, coming to a stop near them and folding his arms in a defensive way. "Have any of you seen my good-for-nothing slimy little bro- Rani!" Rani stopped sucking the end of her quill and grudgingly looked up at the charmingly unkempt boy regarding her with surprise. She raised an eyebrow slightly at the use of her first name, and Black flushed the slightest bit. "I mean, er- Shacklebolt, your brother's friends with mine, right? For some unexplainable reason?" She raised the other eyebrow and waited for this conversation to go somewhere. "I mean, you don't know where he might be, do you?" She gave him her very best blank stare for a moment, then looked back down at her essay.

"At the Quidditch stadium, I'd imagine. Kingsley's trying out for Hufflepuff Beater," she answered, a chill rolling off her words. She tried not to like Black- he inspired too much… uncomfortable emotion. He was also arrogant. His best mate was constantly on Lily's case and was a lousy boyfriend besides. And anyway, she didn't have time for the whole boy- not that she would ever actually go for…

Rani bit on her tongue to pull herself out of these dangerous thoughts and tried to get back to her essay, but Black was still hovering around their table. It had to be the longest time he'd stuck around Slytherins without bullying one of them. Next to her, she could sense how tense Snape had become, his eyes practically burning a hole in his paper. Yaxley and Avery were both regarding the Gryffindor with intense dislike, and Rani was aware that it was only her mediating presence that was stopping anyone coming to jinxes. Wearily, knowing she _had _to do something to diffuse the situation, she heaved a sigh and stood.

"I have to go find a book," she said, very pointedly. Purposely not looking at Black, she swept past him into the stacks. As she had expected, he followed. What was with this newfound attachment to her? Rani headed down a row, Black making a lame attempt at strolling nonchalantly after her in that loping way of his. She crouched to look at the bottom shelf, finding an excuse to not meet his eyes.

"Um, listen, Ra- Shacklebolt, I was wondering, for Potions, I'm kind of-"

"Hey, will you do me a favor, Black? Next time you see Lupin, ask him to come find me," Rani interrupted, not taking her eyes off the spines of the books. She didn't think she wanted to know where the rest of that sentence had been going.

"Er, Lupin?" Black repeated, confused and completely distracted.

"Yeah, Lupin. You know, your best mate?" she said, grabbing a couple books at random and standing up to regard her assailant, who looked rather like a lost puppy at the moment. She felt the ridiculous urge to laugh bubble up, and had to fight it back down. "He's supposed to meet with me about Transfiguration. Would you just remind him for me?" She glanced down at the books she held as she started to walk back down the aisle towards the table. "Oops, wrong one. Would you mind putting that back?" she added, practically smacking one of the books into Black's chest so he had no choice but to grab it. "Thanks!" And she brushed past him, heading back to the table she had been sharing with the Slytherins. Rani didn't glance backward, and yet somehow she could sense the speechless mouth of Sirius Black gaping at her retreating back. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

* * *

Rani strolled languidly across the lawn towards the darkening Quidditch pitch, hoping to catch her brother as he came out of his tryout. She had just managed to wrangle open the chocolate frog package in her hand when she spotted him coming towards her with her old remodeled Silverarrow slung over his shoulder- she had passed it onto him after she decided to drop her Keeper position in fourth year. Kingsley looked just as preoccupied as she felt.

"Wotcha, Kings- how'd it go?" she greeted him, pulling him into a quick one-arm hug when she reached him, since there was no one else around.

"Great- I'm on the team now!" he said distractedly, his eyes sweeping across the grounds. "You haven't seen Regulus around, have you?"

"What is this, have Rani keep track of all her brother's friends day?" Rani demanded, speaking around the head of the chocolate frog she had just bitten off with relish. Kingsley looked at her quizzically. "His older brother just asked me the same thing," she elaborated. "And no, I haven't seen him. He didn't come watch?"

"No," Kingsley answered. "He _said_ he was going to. I haven't seen him a whole lot over the last week- he's been hanging around with the Carrows." Rani wrinkled her nose in distaste and offered her brother a conciliatory chocolate frog.

"Mum and Dad just sent them. They say good luck on your Beater position, but I guess you don't need it any more. The letter's in my bag, if you really want to read it." Kingsley took the sweet and attacked it with equal vigor, opting to start with its legs.

"So, how'd classes go today? Any luck in Transfiguration?" Rani snorted in annoyance.

"I've got a tutor now." Kingsley made a sympathetic noise. "At least you did well on that Arithmancy test. And you continue to shock and amaze Slughorn, even after all these years. He never misses the opportunity to mention either you or Lily to me during class." Rani grunted in reply, and the two of them were silent for a while as they walked. "Some week, huh?" Kingsley finally said, sensing his sister's melancholy mood.

"Yeah," she sighed as they headed back to the castle, "some really crappy week."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Okay, one more time. Is it 'swish and flick', 'swish swish flick', or 'swish flick swish jab'?" Her brain felt like it was moving through molasses as she screwed up her entire face in concentration. Rani could just tell Lupin was trying not to laugh at her, so she quickly smoothed her expression self-consciously.

"Um… None? Isn't it 'swish jab flick'?" she answered uncertainly. Lupin beamed at her.

"Very good! Now you're getting it! Now- Oh, hi, Lily." Rani glanced up, shielding her eyes from the setting sun. Lily had joined her and Lupin where they had set up camp on the steps to the castle, and she was looking rather perturbed.

"Hiya, Remus. Hey, Ra. You haven't seen Andy, have you? Or, um… Or Potter?"

"'Dromeda is probably up in the Owlery, sending another letter- or else cooped up in the Library again. She's been writing a lot recently; it's starting to get a bit weird. She doesn't even talk to me for more than ten minutes at a time now, which is reason enough to worry. As for Potter," Rani narrowed her eyes slightly and stared accusingly at her friend, "why do you want to know?" Lily turned slightly pink and tossed her hair in agitation.

"It's only for a Charms report! Or, question. I mean, Flitwick told me to- Why's it your business, anyway?" Lupin made a noise at Rani's shoulder that sounded an awful lot like a snigger, but somehow managed to turn it into a cough. Lily glared at him nonetheless.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything!" he assured her, grinning. "After all, Sirius has been popping up wherever I work with Rani for the last week with the lamest excuses imaginable- he practically tackled me when he found out I'd be tutoring her- and I haven't teased him one little bit or said one word." Rani blanched as Lupin divulged his little observations for the first time- she hadn't thought he'd been paying that much attention. It was Lily's turn to guffaw; Rani had been neglecting to tell her about her little run-ins with Black. She felt her face flush.

"Yeah, yeah. It's only coincidence, right?" she took one look at Lupin's face and plowed on, hurriedly changing the subject. "Check the Quidditch pitch, Evans. I'll bet you anything Potter's in the broom cupboard, sticking his Nimbus 1000 up his-"

"He was headed to the kitchens for a bite last time I heard, Lily," Remus broke in loudly. Lily gave a little snort, whether of amusement or disgust it was hard to say, and turned to jog up the steps into the entrance hall. Lupin and Rani glanced at each other in the awkward silence that fell as she departed. Lupin opened his mouth.

"You say one word about Black and so help me I'll stuff Tentacula pods into your pillowcase," Rani cut him off, glaring. Lupin grinned.

"I wasn't going to say anything about Black… other than that he's headed this way," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the greenhouses. Rani whipped her head to see, swore loudly, and immediately started stuffing her books in her bag.

"Bullocks, what the bloody hell is his problem—Thanks Lupin, I'll see you on Wednesday—can't even study one hour in decent peace…" She slung her bag over her shoulder and followed Lily's course up the steps, not looking back as she heard Black approach Lupin behind her.

"Why does she keep doing that?" she heard him ask.

"Because you can't get enough of being cold-shouldered for once, Padfoot, that's why," Lupin answered, chuckling, before the doors to the Entrance Hall swung shut on their voices.

* * *

Rani sat slowly upright in bed, listening to the steady sounds of her dorm-mates' sleeping. Melinda's soft snoring was present as usual on her left but on her right—on her right was nothing. No rustling. No breathing. She shifted slightly so the moonlight filtering in through the mullioned window illuminated the bed next to her. Nothing—just vacant, disheveled sheets. So where was Andromeda?

Rani waited five minutes, ten, twenty, until uneasiness took root in the pit of her stomach. Finally giving in, she wrapped her comforter around her, swung her feet onto the cold flagstone floor and padded lightly out of the dormitory, shutting the door softly as she left. She tiptoed down a flight of stairs to the Ravenclaw girls' loos and then paused as the sound of flushing reached her ears through the door. With some sense of relief, Rani pushed it open and entered, trying not to remind herself that she was walking in a restroom in bare feet.

"'Dromeda, Christ, here you are—what's wrong?" Rani stopped short. Andromeda was kneeling on the floor next to one of the commodes, her face pale and sickly looking, dark circles etched under her puffy eyes. She glanced up at Rani with bloodshot eyes and a distraught expression, then laid her head wearily on her arms crossed over the toilet seat and heaved a shuddering sigh.

"Andy, what's wrong?" Rani repeated. "Come on love, talk to me—what's going on? Are you sick?" Well, that was a given. At the use of her nickname Andromeda opened her eyes to survey Rani once again and then, to Rani's horror and bewilderment, screwed up her entire face and began to cry, burying her face in her arms. Rani was struck dumb—Andromeda Black did not cry, except for broken bones and really bad break-ups. Only for really good reasons did she _ever_ cry-- or rather, only for really bad.

Rani was never very good at all the emotional business; that was usually Lily's area of expertise. But this was her best friend in the world, after all, and since there was nobody else present, she went into the total maternal mode that she usually only had to resort to when comfort food and movies were the only other remedies. She knelt next to Andromeda, nudged her crossed arms and head off of the toilet seat, and wrapped the comforter snuggly around her shoulders. Then she sat there, hugging her friend and rocking gently back and forth, and said nothing for a good five minutes while Andromeda positively bawled into her blanket. Finally, the torrent trickled down to hiccups and little sobs.

"What's the matter?" Rani asked again, gently. Andromeda drew a great, huge, shuddering breath that expanded her entire ribcage in Rani's arms and then said:

"I think I'm pregnant." And promptly started bawling again.

Rani was speechless. She stared. Blinked. Her heart seemed to have expanded and shot upward into her throat. If she had been expecting anything, it hadn't been _that_.

"You- you- are you-"

"Sure? Yes I'm sure!" Andromeda practically screeched through her tears. "Late! Nauseous! Cranky! Up at insane hours!" Rani felt a surge of guilt. How had she possibly not noticed before? She had been too self-centered, wrapped up in her own little troubles, which were all completely bleached in comparison to _this._

"Okay," she said slowly, trying to improvise. How the hell were they supposed to handle this? "Okay, deep breaths. Um… do you know who the father is? Wait, you're not a virgin anymore?" she added, this realization catching up to her for the first time. Andromeda shot her a look through her swollen eyes. "Sorry, dumb question."

"No _shit_ it's a dumb question! Or do you still believe in the stork?"

"Sorry, sorry! So, do you?" Andromeda took several large gulps of air.

"It's Ted. Definitely Ted. It's the only possibility." Rani stared at her, experiencing a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The Blacks and Muggles didn't exactly approve of one another. In fact, it was sort of a predator vs. prey relationship. And Muggles like Ted happened to be the prey. Given the current situation, however, she didn't think it would be wise to point this out.

"Um… Um, okay. I mean- Bullocks, Andy, didn't you use… _anything?_"

"Those damn Muggle things! They don't do Merlin's left-!" Andromeda started bawling, but Rani cut her off.

"Okay, okay! And after?"

"I didn't get anything the morning after because I thought I was okay. And about two weeks ago, when I started to suspect, it was already too late. I would've had to try to get through Ministry law's against fetus curses and all that shit—oh god," she gasped, starting to cry again. "Fetus. There's something growing inside me. Ew. Me. Oh God."

"It's not 'ew', it's the freakin' miracle of life," Rani responded, trying to sound funny. Another of her friend's glares was reaction enough to make her add, "We have to get you to Madame Pomfrey. Now." Andromeda let out a wail at this.

"No! What if they expel me? Where will I go? What will I do? My family-- my family-"

"Your family is a bunch of soggy little toads with slippery little tongues that don't deserve you, but as far as this is concerned Andromeda Black, I _am_ your family. So speaking as your mother, sister, grandmamma, and freakin' great-godmother's-aunt twice-removed, you _will_ get up off this filthy floor and march with me down to the Hospital Wing _right now._ I will _not_ let you put your health on the line like this young lady, so let's _move_." Rani stood resolutely and tugged a slightly shocked Andromeda to her feet, pulling one of her friend's arms around her shoulders and guiding her to the door. "You don't need to puke one more time before we head out?" She shook her head slowly. "Good. And if you feel the urge, just try to aim away from me and, if possible, my comforter—vomit is rather hard to remove from goose down," Rani quipped.

Andromeda let out a weak chuckle and together they swayed unsteadily out the door and tottered down the stairs, making it to the common room without incident. Noticing that she was turning increasingly green, Rani had Andromeda stop right as they stepped out of the door to Ravenclaw tower for a break, and then they pressed on, working their way down more stairs. Rani kept up a running commentary for Andromeda, making meaningless and childish jokes that usually had to do with vomit or the stupid things boys did.

It wasn't until they reached the Entrance Hall at last that Andromeda started to really slow down. She stumbled a bit and swayed on Rani's shoulder. "Hold it, mate, take a breather," Rani said, coming to a halt. "Do I need to conjure up a waste bin?" Andromeda smiled weakly and shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said, before her eyes rolled back in her head and she crumpled to the floor. Rani went down with her and knelt on the flagstone. She checked hurriedly for a pulse and was relieved to find one. But still…

_Oh shit._ For all her quips about conjuring waste bins, Rani had not brought her wand with her when she had left the Ravenclaw dormitory. And she certainly wasn't strong enough to carry her friend all the way to the Hospital Wing. They were stuck, stranded on the floor in a pool of light that filtered in from the full moon, and Rani had no way of moving them.

_Double shit. _What now?


	6. Chapter 6

**Another chappie! Damn, I'm on a roll here, aren't I? Thanks to PhoenixAngel, who made me giggle—yes, it's NYMPHIE! Anyway, hope this isn't too angsty—enjoy and review!**

**Chapter 6**

Sirius padded silently up the steps to the castle, ears pricked for the sounds of Wormtail or Prongs trailing him—Moony would follow after, when Madame Pomfrey came to check on him at dawn. But he, Wormtail, and Prongs were sticking to their usual plan of staggering their arrivals at the castle by ten minutes so it was harder to track them—a plan they had settled on following Snivellus' little jaunt to the Whomping Willow after their group a couple years back.

The fur on the back of Sirius' neck stood up as he nudged open the little door cut into the larger doors of the Entrance Hall. He could sense somebody or something just beyond his vision. He froze and raised his head to sniff the air warily, then poked his nose around the edge of the threshold to peer across the open expanse of flagstone that was cast into shades of gray by the moon.

Two lumpy, dark figures were huddled on the floor, one sprawled flat, the other moving around a bit, rummaging. Warily, Sirius nudged the door open some more and snuck softly closer to hear the noises the moving figure seemed to be making, taking care to be sure his claws didn't click on the stone.

"Shit," the agitated one was muttering, as he froze once again to listen. "Bullocks Andromeda, please tell me you have your wand…" The figure threw up its hands and sat back on its heels. "Go figure, you don't. Some pair of witches we are, aren't we? Wandless and stuck in the bloody castle, how pathetic… oh god, wake _up_, please!" Sirius' pricked up his ears some more in recognition—_Andromeda?_

Sirius the dog closed his eyes and fell easily into concentration. Five seconds later, Sirius the boy was striding silently across the Hall towards the two huddled shapes.

"Is she alright?" he asked in a loud whisper as he drew nearer. Displaying an impressive set of reflexes, the one who had been muttering gave a tiny yelp, leapt up and spun around to face him. "Whoa, whoa, chill out! It's only me," Sirius said reassuringly, taking out his wand and lighting its tip. To his surprise, the startled face of Rani Shacklebolt was suddenly revealed through the gloom, staring at him in shock with her mouth slightly open. She stood frozen in the wandlight, clad in an oversize t-shirt and boxers, like a deer caught in the headlights. Then she started moving again with the same agitated energy she had shown earlier.

"Bloody _fucking_ hell, Black, what the bullocks did you do that for?" she hissed vehemently, smacking him soundly on the arm. "Give me a bloody heart attack, the fuck are you doing— oh, thank _god_, you have a wand," she added, cutting off her own scolding and attempting to yank it out of his hand. Sirius instinctively tightened his grip.

"Hold on, that's mine, thank you very much," he said indignantly and with some surprise, trying to tug it out of her long fingers. "Why should I give you my wand?"

"Did you happen to notice my unconscious best friend on the _floor_?" Shacklebolt demanded, her voice escalating back up to a whispery screech. She pierced him with a gaze that glinted black in the wandlight. "Frankly, I don't give a damn if you accompany us or not, but either way one of us is going to levitate her up to the Hospital Wing right _now_, and it's going to be done with your wand, _capice?_" She was a mere foot from his face by now, and Sirius was trying very hard not to eye the way Shacklebolt's entire body was tense with fury and her hair was coming down from its ponytail. This had to be the most emotion he had ever seen her exhibit, and it was a little frightening.

"Calm down, I'll do it, I'll do it, see?" Sirius said soothingly, swishing his wand and lifting Andromeda gently into the air. He moved past Shacklebolt to examine his cousin in the light. "She looks terrible—what happened to her? Is she sick?" he asked, feeling worry flare in his chest. He brushed back 'Dromeda's brown hair to look closer at her pale and clammy face.

"Yes," Shacklebolt answered shortly, taking one of her floating friend's hands and starting to move towards the stairs up to the Hospital Wing. "Are you coming or what?" she shot back over her shoulder, her eyes still flashing. Obligingly, directing his wand in front of him, Sirius started after them.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey had finally stopped bustling in and out from behind the curtain, carrying all sorts of potions and strange-looking instruments in to Andromeda's bedside. She stood now with her hands on her dressing gown-clad hips in front of the curtain, surveying Sirius where he sat slumped in an armchair.

"She's going to be fine," she announced, with a grim expression on her face. "But she's got a long haul ahead of her. I gave her a sleeping potion, and I'm brewing tea, if either of you would like some. Then you both need to get some rest." Sirius heaved a sigh as he felt the relief wash over him. _Pregnant_. This was going to tick the family off.

He turned and glanced over his shoulder at where Shacklebolt stood near the doors to the balcony, her arms crossed over her chest while she waited and watched like a hawk as Madame Pomfrey tended Andromeda. At the good news, her expression didn't change much—she merely gave a little nod and turned to slip out the doors to the balcony. Despite a little voice inside his head that suggested now was not the time, Sirius felt compelled to cross the ward and follow her.

Shacklebolt was slumped over the parapet wall as Sirius pulled the door closed behind him and stepped into the cool air. She was holding her head up with her hands and her entire posture emanated exhaustion.

"You okay?" Sirius asked tentatively, marveling at how all the furious energy she had exhibited in the Entrance Hall seemed to have vanished. Shacklebolt did not look at him as she answered in a flat, tired voice:

"It's four-thirty in the morning and I've been up since two taking care of my just-turned-seventeen year old best friend, who, it turns out, is pregnant with her Muggle summer romance's child and just collapsed on me because she hasn't been getting the right nutrition for her and her _baby_." She heaved a huge sigh and buried her head in her arms. "I need a Fire Whiskey, a cigarette, and a really good guitar solo," she said with her voice muffled. Sirius snorted in amusement, but Shacklebolt didn't budge. Still slightly wary, he leaned next to her on the wall.

"Thanks for telling her you sent for me—you saved me from a very angry McGonagall," he thanked her. She didn't move, other than to say:

"No problem. I don't even want to know what you were doing out of bed—chances are it's safer for me not to." Sirius smiled a little, hesitated, and then gave his wand a little flourish.

"This is the closest thing I can get to Fire Whiskey, unless you want to give me time to dash up to my dormitory," he said, presenting her with a bottle of Butterbeer. Shacklebolt lifted her head and eyed the bottle, then reached out a hand and accepted it. Displaying impressive skill, she popped the top with her teeth and took a gulp as though it really was whiskey.

"Not strong enough," she commented dryly, smacking her lips. "But it'll have to do." Sirius eyed her, a tingling feeling jumping somewhere in his chest. She was like… he didn't even know what she was like. Like nothing he'd ever seen.

"That was an impressive skill," he remarked, referring partly to the way she had opened the bottle and partly to her drinking habits. "Something tells me you've had some practice."

"How else do you suggest I amuse myself in the summers?" she asked, a little spark coming back into her voice. Sirius grinned at her, but she did not smile back. "Madam Pomfrey has the tea," she said, jerking her chin through the glass doors over Sirius' shoulder. He turned, and Shacklebolt brushed past him into the ward. Feeling a sense of confusion that he couldn't quite pinpoint, Sirius followed her in and accepted his tea from the waiting Madame Pomfrey.

"I'd like to spend the night here, if that's okay," Shacklebolt told the nurse as she accepted her tea with the hand not gripping her Butterbeer. Sirius' eyes locked onto the way the cup rattled ever so slightly in its saucer as Shacklebolt took hold of the china. He hadn't noticed she was shaking.

"Fine, fine, Miss Shacklebolt. In fact, it's probably best; you can have a bed next to hers. Will you be staying too, Mister Black?" Black hesitated for a fraction of a second, took one look at Shacklebolt's face, and said quickly:

"No, I think I'll head back up to my dormitory. I'll check on 'Dromeda in the morning," which made Shacklebolt stop burning a hole through his head with her glare.

"Good. Well, you'd better get off to bed then, and you may take the tea with you, of course. Be sure to be careful you don't run into Filch—I think he's a bit enthusiastic about his new caretaker's post, although don't quote me on that," Madame Pomfrey said with a slight chuckle.

"Of course not," Sirius said graciously, moving towards the doors to the Wing. He cast a glance back as he reached them to see Madame Pomfrey extinguishing the lanterns one by one and Rani Shacklebolt pulling the blankets up to her chin, situating herself so she could keep a watchful eye on Andromeda's curtained bed.

Sirius's head as he walked cautiously back to Gryffindor Tower was not filled, as it should have been, with worries over his cousin and what was going to happen to her next, although he did store that thought somewhere. The main part of his mind was taken up completely with images of that tall, smooth-skinned, wild haired girl: the way her eyes glinted darkly, the power and command of her fury, her muffled voice as she spoke into her arms, the way the saucer had shaken in her hand. Sirius concluded, finally, as he passed the snoring portraits in the corridors, that it was time to admit it to himself: he, Sirius Black, was completely smitten for Rani Shacklebolt. She held an enormous power over him, the power to make him stumble head-over-heels and trip over his own charming words.

_If James ever finds out, I'll never hear the end of it._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"I brought your Potions homework at least, Andromeda," Lily announced, dropping a textbook at the foot of her bed. "You'll have to blame Ra for not getting the rest."

"Evans, she's on bed rest for god's sake, and this is Andromeda we're talking to. Why on earth would she do homework when she has a legitimate excuse not to? She doesn't even do homework when she _doesn't_ have a legit excuse. Which is why she's in Ravenclaw- we're more sensible about things like that," Rani drawled, dropping her bag on the floor and sitting on a neighboring bed. Lily huffed and sat down next to her, and then they both turned simultaneously to survey Andromeda, who was propped up on her pillows. Even after two days she was still pale and her brown eyes were a little bloodshot, but otherwise she looked pleased to see them.

"Rani's right- I'd rather hear all the hot gossip going on than do work," she said, smiling. "Nobody's talking about me, are they?"

"No, I only told Evans like you told me to, and she isn't going to tell Alice or anything. Black the elder is keeping his promise, too, or as far as I can tell," Rani assured her.

"Other than that, not a whole lot else of importance," Lily chimed in. "Bella got an owl with sweets this morning from her hoity-toity hubby, and you _should_ have seen Narcissa's face- it went the same color as the Gryffindor banner." They all sniggered at this. "Oh, and Slughorn's holding a Halloween party over the Hogsmead weekend this Saturday - fifth through seventh years have special permission to be out until midnight. The Slug Club and a few other favorites are going to hang about in the Three Broomsticks."

"And Lily's making me go," Rani groaned, throwing herself backward on the bed. "Will you be able to save me, 'Dromeda? We could get free food and make snide comments about all the teachers' pets behind their backs."

"Hey!" Lily exclaimed in indignation, while Andromeda grinned.

"Sure, Madame Pomfrey ought to let me go by tomorrow, Friday at the latest."

"Shouldn't you avoid any sort of stress?" Lily asked, looking concerned.

"It's only been about five weeks, Lily- I only need to _really_ start worrying once I've reached six or seven months." Lily gave a little squirm and bounced up and down on the mattress a little.

"I just can't believe you're really going to have a baby, Andy!"

"We know," Rani said quickly, not wanting to get into the squeal-fest it had been the day after their midnight rush to the Hospital Wing. "But since we're on the subject," she added, sitting up and piercing Andromeda with her best accusatory stare, "I've been avoiding this out of respect for your 'delicate constitution', but seeing as you're almost better, it's about time you 'fessed up- what are you going to _do_ about this, Andy?" Andromeda heaved a huge sigh and her smile lost some of its usual sparkle.

"Well… Dumbledore came to talk to me yesterday after lunch when you went off to Charms. Madam Pomfrey just told him I was in the Hospital Wing and I needed some help- I actually explained what was going on, though. Bullocks, was _that_ an awkward conversation," she added, shuddering. "Anyway, for the first six months I'm going to stay here like normal, possibly longer. But when it gets really close to time, I'll head for St. Mungoes. I have a check-up there next week, by the way, and once a month until it gets closer."

"We'll come," Lily chimed, positively beaming. Rani wrinkled her nose slightly.

"_She'll_ come. I'll be waiting here to welcome you back with a whole bag of whatever strange snacks you might be craving in your hormonal woes." Andromeda laughed, which lessened the tight knot of stress in Rani's chest a little. "So, are you going to use a Concealing Charm to hide it from everyone, or just let nature take its course?" she added on a more serious note, eying Andromeda's currently flat stomach. Andromeda grimaced a little.

"Dumbledore gave me the option, but I don't know… I think I want to hear what Ted's got to say first. Christ, I've still got to _tell_ him," she groaned, pulling the sheets up over her head briefly. "Dumbledore said he'd arrange to Floo me to the Tonks' house, since Apparition can get a bit dodgy with pregnancies. Next Monday or so. That'd probably scare the wits out of Ted's parents, though; it took me three weeks just to get _Ted_ used to the idea of magic. And he's still a little nervous sending letters by owl- he's afraid they'll bite."

"Oh, Andromeda, I'm so _happy_ for you!" Lily squealed, bouncing again. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled- he will, won't he?"

"If I know Ted like I think I do, he may not be bouncing off the walls at first, but he'll stick by me," Andromeda answered, worry lines creasing her forehead.

"And if he doesn't, we will," Lily said positively.

"And we'll take care of the little traitor if he backs out, too," Rani added threateningly. "What about your family?" The worry lines deepened on Andromeda's face.

"I think I'm going to wait until Christmas. It's not like the holidays in the Black household are anything cheerful- especially since Sirius skipped out on New Years last year. Why not make them a little worse?"

"Lily can go to the Healer's; I've got your back on that, 'Dromeda. I'd _love_ an excuse to have a go at your good-for-nothing relatives," Rani said darkly, unconsciously clenching her fists.

"They're too into that 'Dark Lord' business for their own good," Lilly agreed, shaking her head.

"As long as they don't start going around massacring people, I don't really care about that bit. But they treat Andy like rubbish."

"I read in the paper this morning that the Dark supporters are starting to cause a bit more bother, though," Lily commented thoughtfully, shifting the subject. "A couple of them got caught for extortion or blackmail or something to do with politics. They're the first to be put into Azkaban since the last of Grindelwald's supporters were rounded up." The three of them gave a collective shudder at the mention of the eerie wizard prison.

"I should hope people wouldn't be stupid enough to be taken in by scare tactics again," Andromeda muttered.

"One would hope," Rani agreed. She glanced at her watch. "Dammit. I've got to run, you two, I'm still supposed to meet Lupin for my tutoring." She rolled her eyes and gave an indignant snort, although the sessions hadn't been nearly as bad as she had expected. "I'll come by again after dinner, Andy, but I can't spend another night in here with you- I can never sleep on these stupid beds and I still haven't quite caught up on rest from when all this started."

"I'll walk out with you," Lily said quickly, hopping off the bed and following Rani, who was already halfway down the ward.

"Hoping to run into somebody, Lily?" Andromeda asked slyly.

"No!" Lily protested, turning pink.

"That's our next discussion, you lot," Rani called over her shoulder, continuing to walk away. "Boys. Because _some_ of us have not been keeping the others up-to-date, miss no-longer-a-virgin." Andromeda giggled, and Rani and Lily swept out of the ward.

"And we have to figure out our costumes for Saturday!" Lily added loudly as they rounded the corner outside the doors. Andromeda's exasperated sigh practically echoed down the hallway after them.

* * *

"How do you have such small feet, Ra?" Lily asked wonderingly as Rani zipped up her high heeled, knee-length black boots.

"What do you mean, 'how do I have such small feet'? These are _your_ shoes!" Rani said indignantly.

"Yes, but you're about a foot taller than me. You'd think you'd lose your balance, or something." Rani swiped on her third layer of mascara, closed the top, and chucked it at her friend where she sat on the edge of Melinda's vacant bed.

"Maybe _your_ feet are just unusually large, ever thought of _that_?" she quipped, as Lily rubbed the top of her head where the mascara had hit. "They make me look a bit like a hooker, anyway," she added, surveying her costume in the mirror.

"Yes, well, you're a _sexy_ pirate, not just a pirate. The hottest she-captain in the Three Broomsticks and her motley crew," Andromeda announced, opening her arms wide in proclamation and grinning widely. Rani merely raised an eyebrow at her, being too preoccupied with applying dark red lipstick to free her mouth long enough to reply. Lily, however, looked Andromeda up and down.

"I really do like the costume, Andy. You make quite a lovely butterfly. You even managed to conjure up some wings. Nice." Rani snorted—a butterfly clad in a black evening gown and sparkly wings as part of her 'motley crew'. Vicious.

"Thank you," Andromeda answered, bowing her head sedately and ignoring Rani. "I figured it was a chaste enough image, seeing as how I'm no longer available. Although I am a bit envious of your Quidditch captain outfit. Argentina. Nice choice." Lily grinned happily and tugged down the hem of her extremely short Quidditch robes, then fastened on her other glove.

"Ask her where she got the broom," Rani said, blotting her lips on a piece of scrap parchment. "And the gloves. And the shin guards." Lily's face darkened and she shot a glare in her direction.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say from a certain James Potter," Andromeda giggled.

"You put any more of that black eyeliner on and you'll end up looking like one of those American football players," Lily said snidely, her green eyes flashing, but avoiding addressing the actual question.

"Hey, you were the one who made me actually dress up for this thing—if we didn't have to have a costume to get in the door, I'd just throw on a pair of devil horns and be done. The whole thing is utterly ridiculous, anyway." Rani tugged her corset roughly tighter and straightened out her billowy white undershirt, huffily securing her sash and dagger over her red and black pinstriped cut-offs.

"Oh come on, don't pretend you totally didn't choose Stick-Like-a-Charm Lipstick to avoid getting it smeared all over Yaxley's face, because I _know_ you did, Shacklebolt, and I know you're looking forward to it," Lily retorted, her voice rising as well. Rani wheeled around with every intention of throwing out another snide comment, but Andromeda finally broke in.

"Oi, Rani, isn't Yaxley waiting for you? And Lily, come on, hurry up and do your hair—we're starting to go from 'fashionably late' to being just in time for last call." Rani and Lily gave simultaneous huffs, but Rani let it go, double-knotted the kerchief in her hair, grabbed her hat, and strode out of the dormitory.

"Ten to one says Potter and his cronies are standing inside the Entrance Hall, waiting for you to show up," she couldn't resist calling over her shoulder. Thankfully, the door swung shut on Lily's Jelly-Legs Jinx. Grinning satisfactorily, Rani made her way down the stairs, at the bottom of which Yaxley was waiting to walk her to Hogsmead.

* * *

"I bloody hate these things," Avery muttered, taking a deep swigged of spiked pumpkin juice (the teachers had yet to notice the alcoholic version, being rather warm and fuzzy themselves).

"This one isn't so bad. Somehow more than just the usual favorites wrangled an invitation, and at least we don't have to head back to the castle until midnight," Avery pointed out, gesturing around at the packed pub and at least sixty raucous invitees.

"And the drinks make it infinitely more enjoyable," Mulciber added, raising his glass.

"Drink up, me hearties, yo ho," Rani said in sarcastic agreement, toasting him and taking a drink of the Fire-Whisky she had slid out from underneath a very tipsy Professor Slughorn's nose—he hadn't even noticed. Yaxley grinned at her and tightened his arm around her waist. Despite the fact that each of them couldn't sneak enough booze to get drunk for fear of Professor McGonagall miraculously deciding to actually accept her invitation and walking in the door, his pupils were definitely more dilated than usual.

"You know, you make a very hot pirate, Miss Shacklebolt," he told her. Rani rolled her eyes.

"It's a good thing you and I both know this thing isn't going to last past this party, Yaxley, or I would say you're being a bastard," she retorted, amidst the laughter of the other Slytherins seated around the table.

"And yet, over the years, you keep coming back for more," he said.

"Only when pickings are slim. And I can guarantee I will never let you get _all_ the way, you slimy little snake." The laughter increased, and Yaxley gave a playful little frown.

"Well now, no need to go insulting Houses, missy."

"From what I hear, your house has been acting even more slimy than usual," Rani said, finding the perfect opportunity to indirectly address her little brother's woes with his negligent best friend. "Word has it the Dark Arts have been making their way around your common room." The laughter slowly died down, and several pairs of eyes gave each other significant looks.

"And what if they have been? Are you so sure they're as black as everyone paints them?" Rani gazed at him, and Yaxley looked directly and steadily back at her, dark eyes glittering, clearly gauging her reaction. Mulciber and Avery shifted in their seats; Snape, who had been silently studying the scratched wood of the tabletop the entire time, finally raised his head.

"Do you have the Mark?" Rani demanded quietly, getting to the point as adrenaline spiked in her system. She thought she knew that none of them had that kind of guts, but she wasn't entirely sure of that assessment.

"What difference does it make, whether we wear our allegiance on our skin or not? When the time comes, it is only loyal actions that matter," Mulciber retorted in a boastful, defiant tone. Rani stared at him with her eyes half shut, keeping her face impassive as she chose her next words very carefully, not wanting to sound accusatory. He had just confirmed her guess: she knew this group was easily impressed by fancy words, willing to follow, anxious to act. It was doubtful any of them posed a threat to _her_—they weren't exactly friends, but obviously they weren't enemies. But still, their relationship, even that between her and Yaxley, was best described as a delicate mutual tolerance. Rani didn't particularly want to upset the balance.

"Let us hope you don't fumble at the crucial moment, then, otherwise you will have nothing to show for your loyalty," she finally remarked archly, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow at the group at large. She thought they were all being a bit stupid for their faithfulness, really. Mulciber gaped back at her, obviously torn between offense and surprise. At her side, Yaxley gave a little snort, but all the same, Rani saw the color in his cheeks drain at the thought of displeasing his rising idol. She repressed a small, self-satisfied smile. Rani didn't care what notions ran through all of their heads, as long as they all remained too cowardly to act on them, as clearly none of them had taken the plunge yet. Only Snape remained gazing into her face, unblinking in the atmosphere of almost tangible tension.

"Another round of drinks, anyone?" Avery said in a high voice, making a lame excuse at breaking the silence.

"We'll get them," Yaxley volunteered, nudging Rani out of the booth and following her through the crowd. "So," he said in an undertone as he guided her to the bar, "Are you going to tell on us?" He smiled at her through the din of people celebrating, but his eyes were glinting coldly. Rani glanced at him, then let her gaze sweep across the room, tugging on her kerchief to buy herself time. Her mind was buzzing with the noise and uneasiness—she didn't want to get involved with this part of the Slytherins' lives—and her adrenaline was starting to spike again.

Suddenly, inexplicably, her eyes snagged on a booth in the corner of the room where the Gryffindor seventh-years were holding court, Lily's bright hair initially catching her eye. Then her attention shifted to the left, beyond Andromeda's shimmering wings and James Potter, where Sirius Black was sitting with a Gryffindor sixth-year on his lap. His arms were wrapped around her, and their locked lips were hidden behind the girl's curtain of hair. Rani's head emptied of all thought of Death Eaters as her adrenaline skipped from spiking to skyrocketing and her cheeks started burn as though she'd been slapped.

"No," she said in reply to Yaxley's question. "Of course not. Why would I tell on you just because your being so-" she pulled him towards where she was leaning on the bar, after doing a quick check to make sure no teachers were in the vicinity "-wicked," she finished in a whisper. And without pausing to analyze the reason she was doing it, Rani was suddenly kissing him fiercely, making absolutely sure the two of them were positioned within eyesight of the Gryffindor table and Sirius Black.


	8. Chapter 8

**The bet (there always seems to be a bet in these stories, eh?) is one I've seen in a couple stories, so I'm telling you now I don't take credit. But i intend to twist this in my own way, so bear with the use of a cliche!**

**Chapter 8**

"Be a love, and get us another Butterbeer, Anna." The slim brunette scooted out of the booth and obligingly headed towards the long line in front of the Butterbeer-littered bar.

"You'll have to teach me how you do it, one of these days," James said with a wistful air. "You just turn on the charm and poof! They're like putty. You sure it's not really some sort of spell?"

"Keep dreaming, mate," Sirius told him flippantly, grinning. "I'm only armed with one wand." Peter, Remus, and James all sniggered; Andromeda gave a disgusted snort and exchanged glances with Evans.

"Fancy a chat with Alice?"

"Infinitely better conversation," Evans agreed, and the two girls got up and made their way over to another table.

"Look, Sirius, now you've gone and scared her off," James pouted in annoyance. "And we were playing nice and everything, too."

"Well, it's a very _ineffective_ wand, if you ask me," Remus muttered, as though there had been no interruption. Sirius made an indignant noise in the back of his throat as Wormtail snorted with laughter. "No, really," Remus continued. "Face it, Padfoot, when have you _ever_ had a long-term relationship? And by long-term, I mean more than three weeks." Sirius opened his mouth in indignation, thought about it, and shut it again, unable to argue. "That's what I thought," Moony said smugly. "It's a very temporary sort of charm."

"He's got a fair point there, Padfoot," James piped up. "You like your birds quick and fleeting."

"So what if I do?" Sirius said defensively, feeling rather attacked by his best mates. They had had this conversation one too many times. "It's a bloody lot better than pining after some lass when your only interaction with her is arguing." He directed this last comment at James, who flushed.

"I'll go out with Evans long before you decide to settle down, Sirius," he growled.

"Prove it," Sirius shot back haughtily.

"I've got an idea," Wormtail suddenly squeaked. It was such a rare occasion that Wormtail would actually contribute something that the other three stopped what was escalating into an argument and stared at him. "A bet," he suggested. Sirius glanced around at James, then at Remus.

"What sort of bet?" he demanded warily.

"Um…" Wormtail replied; he clearly hadn't thought that far ahead.

"One that makes you two cooperate," Moony proposed, glancing between them.

"Like…?"

"Padfoot stops sleeping around until Prongs goes out with Lily." Sirius and James exchanged glances.

"That's no fair," Sirius whined. "James has been asking Evans out for two years, and she's never said yes. I'll be old and withered as Merlin's-"

"I suggest a time limit of three months." Sirius made another indignant noise in his throat at the thought of three months without girls. "The stakes," Moony continued loudly, "might be an incentive." They all fell silent for a bit, thinking.

"Fifteen galleons each," Peter suggested.

"Twenty galleons each losers pay all, and you're on," Sirius challenged.

"Deal," James said decisively. "Moony, you're mediator?"

"No way, mate. I want in on this one," Remus said with a grin. "Ought to be interesting. I personally don't think you two can make it."

"You'll be paying us each twenty Galleons then, Moony. And you're in too, Wormtail? Right-o. It's you and me, mate, and forty galleons each at stake," Sirius told James with a grin. They shook hands and James stood.

"Well, I hope you lot have plenty of money in your Gringotts accounts," he announced. "Because phase one of me getting Lily is about to go into action." With a jaunty salute, James sauntered away from them towards the table Evans had relocated to amidst hoots from Sirius and Peter.

"Big words, mate, big words, and I appreciate your effort- but I'll have to hold up my end of the deal yet," Sirius called after him, then heaved a sigh. "Guess I'd better get rid of old Anna then, eh? Where'd that girl go, anyway?" He scanned the room for the brunette.

"She's at the-" Remus began, but ended with a strangled noise in his throat and buried his face in his pumpkin juice. "Never mind," he said quickly.

"What?" Sirius demanded, glancing behind him in the direction Remus had been gesturing. "What? Is she still in line? I don't-" But he broke off suddenly with a feeling like all the air had just been pushed out of his lungs. Standing at the bar and tapping one foot impatiently was Anna, while next to her was Rani Shacklebolt, snogging the Slytherin Yaxley like a Dementor performing the Kiss.

Sirius experienced several seconds of emotion that were rather like static on the telly- he went from shock, to anger, to confusion as to why he was angry, to recalling that it was because he was keen on Shacklebolt, and then to guilt that he dared feel any sense of possession considering Anna had been on his lap five minutes before. In the end all he could decide on was a resentful indignation that she would dare snog another boy- a _Slytherin_, no less- after he had helped her up to the Hospital Wing _and_ given her Butterbeer. And even more infuriatingly, despite the fact that she was kissing another boy, it was difficult to miss the fact that Shacklebolt was dressed like a pirate—complete with a corset. And a dashingly crooked kerchief tied over her dreadlocks. But a bloody _corset_, for Merlin's sake.

"Are you still keen on her, then?" Remus muttered in his ear, so an oblivious Peter couldn't hear. Sirius felt no sense of surprise that Moony knew he held a reluctant fancy for Shacklebolt, and so did not bother to take his eyes off of her and Yaxley as he answered:

"Don't be stupid, Moony. I've just snogged Anna, haven't I?"

"Only because you couldn't have _her_," Remus answered in a voice that was far too knowing for his liking. Sirius finally turned back around in his seat at this and gave Moony a warning look. He shrugged and put his hands up in a 'don't blame me' gesture, but thankfully offered no more insights. Sirius was seized with an intense urge to _do_ something, to stop Shacklebolt snogging that slimy git, but was finding it very difficult to come up with anything that wouldn't damage his own dignity too much.

Fortunately for him, James took care of that with his usual perfect timing.

"En_ough_, Severus! Get out of it, Potter!" Lily Evans, the color in her cheeks and neck nearly matching the red in her hair, kicked her chair aside and strode out the door of the pub, leaving a small circle of onlookers, Snape, and Prongs staring at each other in her wake. Then Snape snarled at James and made a beeline for the door after her, James hot on his heels.

Over at the bar, Shacklebolt had finally come up for air and glanced over at all the commotion. She blinked a few times in confusion, realized what was going on, rolled her eyes, and shoved Yaxley into a stool as she headed for the door as well. Remus glanced at Sirius.

"After you," he told him. Sirius banged his hip on the table getting up, he moved so fast.

* * *

Lily already had a full head of steam by the time Sirius and Remus managed to push their way out the door.

"Had it! HAD it! You've become a sneaking double-headed snake, Severus, just like everyone kept telling me you would, and I've been trying, _trying_, to wait to see if you would outgrow it. But no, NO, you insist on professing your love to me and then trotting of with your _fucking_ friends to go attack every single thing I hold dear, sometimes right in front of me! I've waited for you to make up your mind, waited and _waited_, and since it seems that you've finally chosen some outdated ideas of wizarding ancestry over ME, I've made _my_ choice. Severus Snape, I don't know who I've decided to spend my days with yet, and god willing there'll be more choices than the idiots in _this_ school, but I DO know that I will never, _ever, EVER_ spend them with _you_, with so much as the ECHO of you!"

Evans' voice started as a shout and escalated into a shriek, her expression wild and her eyes flashing with fury, her hands balled into fists and shaking at her sides as she stood in the middle of the Hogsmead street and yelled. Snape stood in front of her to one side, looking as though the world was crashing down around his head, which gave Sirius some tiny bit of twisted satisfaction. James stood to the other side, looking shell-shocked but with a slight glint of glee beginning to shine through.

"He's going to do something stupid, isn't he," Remus muttered out of the corner of his mouth, phrasing it as a statement rather than a question.

"Yep," Sirius affirmed. Sure enough, James made the rather large mistake of making a move towards Evans as she finished with one hand outstretched as though to comfort her. Evans practically leapt away and directed her ire towards him instead.

"DON'T you _touch_ me! HOW many times must I repeat it? James Potter, you are the most arrogant prat I've ever had the misfortune to meet, and as I've told you time and time and exhausting time AND again, I would _never_ go out with you, not _even_ if I was Confunded from here to high heaven and threatened with Bubotubers under my nose!" she spat.

There was a brief silence as the tiny semicircle of onlookers stood and surveyed the fighters. Shacklebolt stood near Sirius and Moony a safe distance away with her arms crossed, surveying the row grimly as Yaxley, few other Slytherins, Andromeda, and Alice trundled up behind her. Lily's chest was heaving with emotion, James looked a bit like a hurt puppy, and Snape's whole posture emanated dejection so completely it appeared he couldn't even muster a curse. Finally, people started moving again, and mutterings began.

"Come on, Severus, leave the Mudblood alone," Yaxley barked as Snape started to shuffle off alone. Snape didn't so much as look up, but at this insult Shacklebolt stiffened, wheeled around, and delivered such a swift rabbit punch to Yaxley's forehead that he went slightly cross-eyed, staggered backwards a few steps, and had to sit down in the dirt. There were shouts of laughter from the onlookers, to which Sirius joined in with glee. Remus merely shook his head.

"Better than being dangled upside down and dumped in the lake, I suppose," he said. "You'd think the Slytherins would learn not to mess with Lily. You'd think James would too, come to think of it." Both of them stopped smirking at the dazed Yaxley to look up at the hunched back of their mate, who was standing motionless on the fringes of light spilling out of the Three Broomsticks.

"Remus, I'm leaving with Lily," said a voice behind them. Sirius turned around to see Shacklebolt quickly re-emerging from the pub, fastening her cloak and carrying two others over her arm. She settled her feathered pirate hat on her head and continued, "If you find Andy, could you let her know? I've already lost her in the crowd."

"You called her Lily," Remus said in mild surprise as Shacklebolt drew level with them. She cast him a sidelong look and paused for a second.

"After that row, she's 'Lily' for tonight," she said solemnly. "But it'll all work out. I'll fix Lily, the Slytherin idiots will fix Snape."

"And James?" Shacklebolt smiled a sly smile that made Sirius' palms sweat, even though it was directed at Moony.

"Here's your cloak, Black," she said, shoving the garment at him while already walking away. Sirius, surprised, glanced down at the cloak, up at Moody, and then over to James' rejected shadow. He heaved a sigh.

* * *

The walk back was an eerie one. They trudged along the moonlit road without the aid of wandlight in a carefully strung out procession, the orange lights of Hogsmead still a dim glow at their backs. Evans was far in front, still storming along with heavy, angry footfalls. James was at least two hundred yards behind, dragging his feet, being careful not to draw attention to his presence. And somewhere in the middle, a hundred yards from either one of the discontents, strolled Sirius and Shacklebolt.

They walked far enough apart that several broom lengths could not have connected them, and Shacklebolt was in front while Sirius kept his footsteps carefully slow enough to be behind. Still, he fancied the atmosphere between the two of _them_, at least, was companionable. And when, just as the few twinkling lights of Hogwarts loomed into view, Shacklebolt began to hum a low, wandering tune, Sirius was happy to lag behind in silence. Soon the only sounds were the crunch of gravel and her husky voice mingling as Sirius let them wash over his tired body.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

With the combined effort of Andromeda and the unseen help of Alice (who wasn't fond of Rani and tended to avoid her), Rani had only just managed to bring Lily partly out of the foul mood caused by the huge row of several days past when more misfortune came crashing down on her head. Scott, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and expert catcher of peas during boring feasts, tracked Rani down.

"We need a Keeper," he said, looking frazzled and a bit desperate. "We've got a match in a week and a half, and Quinnalt's gone and sprained his back from falling off his broom during practice. Madam Pomfrey says he won't be fit in time, and so far she seems to know what she's doing. Rani, _we need a Keeper_."

And so, with many furious protestations, Rani was to be found walking down to the Quidditch pitch one gray afternoon with her beloved _Silverarrow_ (temporarily repossessed from Kingsley) over her shoulder, discontentedly yanking down the hem of a spare pair of robes that were too short. No one walked with her; Lily had followed up on her word to accompany Andromeda to St. Mungoe's for her checkup, and they were expecting to be gone until dinner. So, a very disgruntled and slightly nervous Rani was left to meet her doom all on her own.

The Gryffindor team was still up in the air when she walked onto the pitch and joined the rest of the Ravenclaw team. After several minutes spent sizing the rest of the team (most of whom were new to her) up, and after receiving several doubtful and curious glances in return, Rani turned her attention to the Gryffindor practice above. They were just finishing up, doing a sort of warm-down scrimmage as a few players landed to leave practice early. Immediately noticeable in the air was James Potter, who, even in the middle of flying full speed around the pitch with a Bludger on his tail, managed to worry about his hair as he ran a hand through it in his characteristic gesture. It wasn't until James had blown the Captain's whistle and all the Gryffindors headed for the ground that Rani even noticed, without letting herself realize why she noticed, that Sirius Black was there as well, making a graceful landing with the Quaffle under one arm.

"Right you lot, we haven't got much time before it gets dark and I don't want to bother with the lamps, so, up you get," Scott announced to the Ravenclaw team, coming out of the Captain's offices with a clipboard held importantly in his hand. "You remember how this works?" he asked Rani in an undertone, smiling slightly. Rani sized up the three goal posts she was supposed to guard with unease.

"Um… Maybe," she answered, but Scott merely grinned in response and mounted his own broom. Rani swung a leg over her _Silverarrow_, settled herself, and kicked off hard from the ground. She was reminded as the broom surged upward of the leap her stomach always took on takeoff, the shivers that went up her spine as she accelerated around the pitch, the happy hum of the silver birch underneath her as it went through its paces. She grinned happily as she made her way to the end of the pitch, remembering why she used to adore this game.

"Spread out, everyone, and let's warm up with some passes," Scott shouted, and the team obediently made a large circle in the air. The warm-ups went relatively well for Rani—to her delight, her reflexes remembered what it was like to catch a ball, duck, and aim. Granted, she fumbled a few times, but she never dropped the Quaffle as she had feared. It was when the rest of the team broke up into positions that she started to run into a little trouble.

"Seeker, work with the Beaters, they'll give you some practice on rolls and dodges. Chasers, come with me—we're going to work with the Keeper." Rani waited with trepidation as the three Chasers, Scott one of them, took up positions about halfway down the pitch. "We'll go easy at first, Ra, just to let you get your bearings," Scott called as they began to work their way towards her, passing back and forth. Rani practically glued her eyes to the Quaffle, not wanting to give it the slightest chance to get into her hoops. They came closer, closer… Scott passed to the fifth-year chaser, who passed back to him, who shot it towards Rani… who tried to turn her broom to the side in time… and missed. Rather _spectacularly_ missed.

They repeated the exercise at least ten more times, and Rani missed every one of them, her frustration slowly rising. She was out of shape, her reflexes were out of practice, and she had forgotten whatever trick she had once known about getting her _Silverarrow_ to turn on the spot—the thing had the turning radius of a drunken mule. She did slightly better when Scott finally broke down and had the Chasers shoot on the goals individually, but even then she was missing quite a lot. By the end of practice, Rani could see the worry about her competence creasing Scott's face as he and the rest of the team headed for the lockers. Rani herself felt the desperate urge to hit something. How could she have let herself get so _bad?_

She was still silently fuming with self-disgust as she trudged back up to the castle alone, having lingered in the showers until everyone else had gone. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice somebody walking up to the castle from the direction of the greenhouses, even when their path merged with her own.

"How was Ravenclaw practice?" said a voice so near to her she nearly jumped. She glanced around to find Black closing the distance between them and surveying her with piercing black eyes. Ignoring her increasing pulse, she merely gave an eloquent grunt in reply. Nonetheless, she slowed her pace for him to catch up. "That bad, huh?" Another grunt was all Black got in reply. "You know," he went on, apparently undaunted by her lack of explanation, "I noticed something when I was waiting around for James to get done in the showers."

"What, that I'm a completely incompetent Keeper?" Rani growled. "Or that James spends too bloody long working conditioner through his hair."

"No," Black persisted, the corners of his mouth twitching. "I noticed you watch the Quaffle too much." She couldn't help glancing at him quizzically. "You need to remember to watch the Chasers' eyes part of the time," he elaborated. "That's where you see their next move. Not in the Quaffle or in the position of their arms—too easy to fake you out like that. Trust me. _I'm_ a Chaser, after all. I know." He gave her the same roguish half-smile that had felled so many girls before her and Rani, to her intense horror, felt a tingle racing up her own spine.

"You just told me it was easy for Chasers to fake you out," she said, giving him a sidelong glance. "How do I know you're not just trying to jinx me for the match next Saturday?" Black's face split into a full grin this time.

"You don't need _me_ to make you any worse," he said with a snort, pulling open the doors to the Entrance Hall and disappearing inside. Rani stopped short indignantly and had to stand blinking on the steps for a few moments before following him inside.

* * *

"Wotcha, Remus." Rani dumped her bag on the library table next to Lupin's things and slid into the seat next to him with a groan. "Bloody hell I'm sore. I hadn't realized what a lump I'd gotten to be."

"We don't have a tutoring session today, do we? I thought we were tapering off, now that you're improving. And why aren't you in practice?" Lupin asked, chewing on the end of his quill as he continued to scan his copy of _Numerology Grammatica_.

"My brother's team's on the pitch now, and Slytherin has it booked after they get done. And Yaxley hasn't become any less of a prat since Halloween—so, lucky you, you get me as a tablemate."

"Honored, I'm sure," Lupin said vaguely, marking a symbol down on his parchment. Rani glanced at his work.

"Are you signed up for the Runes N.E.W.T. exam?"

"Yep. I'm taking the exams for all my N.E.W.T. classes. Aren't you?" Rani snorted.

"Of course you are. And no I'm bloody well _not_. What use do I have for those things? I have no intention in sticking around the wizarding workplace any longer than I'm forced to. Although I think I'll take Potions, just because I wouldn't have to study. Possibly Arithmancy as well," she added as an afterthought. Lupin gave her a rather disapproving look coupled with a snort of his own.

"Well, suit yourself. Drat, I need _Newman's Guide_, and James hid my copy last June and then lost it. Wonder if the library has it?" He put his quill and parchment down, scooted his chair back, and headed off towards the stacks. No sooner had his robes disappeared between the shelves and Rani had gotten out her Arithmancy homework than Andromeda pioneered his vacated seat.

"Have you recovered yet?" Rani asked her calmly without looking up.

"What, from being laid out like a turkey for stuffing in the Healer's office? I bloody well haven't," Andromeda said indignantly, scowling.

"Well, at least everything's going all right," Rani pointed out, grinning at her. Andromeda flapped a hand dismissively.

"Yes, yes, and I'm on the strictest diet of my life to make sure it continues to go all right. I'm not bothered about that—Ra, did you hear the Howler?" She looked positively gleeful.

"Howler?"

"Blimey, how could you have missed it? Shrieking in the hall before dinner."

"Whose was it?" Rani asked, interested.

"My sister's," Andromeda said gleefully. "From my other sister. Ooh, Cissy was _livid_. Apparently Bella got a large box of chocolates from that idiot Malfoy during the afternoon post and foolishly decided to go gloating about it. You know how she is. Anyway… it's turning into a right little family feud, let me tell you."

"Be grateful you're not in their house," Rani remarked wryly.

"Oh believe me, I am. Every single morning, noon, and night," Andy retorted with a wide smile. "Well, I'm off to work on that Transfiguration essay. And to write a letter to Ted to arrange a visit." Her forehead creased. "What do you think I should do about that, by the way?"

"Get it over with?" Rani suggested, not entirely sarcastic. Andy rolled her eyes impatiently as she walked away.

"Lily's looking for you, by the way." Rani gave a brief nod of farewell and returned to her Arithmancy as her mate headed off. She had gotten barely a paragraph through the assigned reading when Andromeda's place was taken by Lily herself, looking flushed and bursting with news of some sort. Rani paused and eyed her. She knew that expression on Lily's face—it was the one that meant she wanted to talk about something. As in, deep and meaningful talking. Rani suppressed a sigh. She had had enough of the meaningful discussions while trying to deal with the fallout from Lily rejecting Snape once and for all.

"Alright, what is it?" she said resignedly as Lily practically bounced in the chair, biting her lip.

"I can't talk long, because I'm supposed to be headed to McGonagall's office about my testing scores, but…"

"Yes?" Rani prodded, wanting to get this over with.

"Ra… Ra, I think I like James Potter. A lot. But I also sort of hate him. With a passion. And I'm furious with him for Halloween. Is that completely mad?" With a very, very intense effort, Rani avoided rolling her eyes at this long anticipated announcement.

"Big surprise," she couldn't help muttering under her breath, before raising her voice. "Just a bit," she answered. "Evans, this really isn't something we can discuss in five minutes between appointments," she pointed out, wishing it were.

"Oh. Right. Well… I just wanted to let you know. Do you want to go for a walk on the grounds with me later? I could really use it."

_No._ "Sure. Run along now, Evans," she smiled, flapping her hand. Lily stuck out her tongue and disappeared. This time, Rani got a full halfway through her assignment, complete with footnotes and showing all her steps, and Lupin had dashed back to the table to reference something several times, before she was interrupted yet again.

"Hey, Shacklebolt, I could really use your help on something."

"What am I, a bloody psychiatrist?" she half-cried in exasperation, glancing up to find Sirius Black now occupying Lupin's chair. "What is it?" she demanded shortly. Black held his hands up defensively.

"Hold on there, I just won't ask then, shall I?" Rani heaved a sigh.

"As long as it doesn't have anything to do with romance or your emotions, go ahead," she growled. Black grinned widely. Rani refused to let her eyes drift towards the way his dark hair flopped into his long lashes.

"Will you help me with my Potions homework? It wouldn't have to be a big deal—just work with me on some of the assignments. I've gotten 'Dreadful' on my past three papers." Rani sized him up, trying to judge his sincerity.

"And for putting up with you…?" she said expectantly.

"You get a few nights of Chaser-to-Keeper practice before your match," Black finished. Rani was silent a little longer, wrestling inwardly. After years of not giving Black a second thought, and the past few months of studiously dismissing him, she was half loathe to place herself in any sort of situation that involved too much alone time with him. Then again, there was that other half that felt flushed every time he gave her one of his looks. And she couldn't forget how she had commandeered him into getting Andy up to the hospital wing. He'd given her Butterbeer, after all.

"Deal," she agreed shortly. Watching Black grin, stand, and lope away, Rani sat there analyzing the rush of pure hormones she was experiencing. _Time to admit it—to myself, anyway_, she thought with considerable reluctance. _No matter how much it hurts my pride…I'm in the same boat with Lily._ She liked Sirius Black with the same intensity as she loathed him. Well, actually, more intensity. _Andy finds out, and I'll never hear the end of this_.

"Well," Lupin said, interrupting her broodings as he also watched Black retreat. "I'd say Sirius is doing rather horribly at holding up his end, at this point. I'll have to report him to James." Rani glanced at him curiously.

"His end of what?" Lupin surveyed her for a little while, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Of the bet."

"Bet?"

"Yeah. You see, we came up with this wager…"


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm all fuzzy inside! **JustAnotherCrazyWriter,** I don't think I give the thanks you deserve for being so lovely and reviewing all the time, so... thank you! And to **SeeECrunVamp **(no short term memory, so I've already forgotten how to write your pen name between clicking on the review and this- forgive me), thanks so much for the adds and the review that made me giggle.**

**Chapter 10**

"Padfoot, I hope you know what you're doing," James hissed vehemently in Sirius' ear. Sirius ignored him and continued fastening on his gloves. "Padfoot, I _really—_"

"I _know_, Prongs, I _know_! You've been repeating it since dessert!" Sirius interrupted, exasperated. He turned and fixed his mate with the most defensive look he could muster. "Nothing's going to happen, and I promise you neither Moony or Wormtail can claim anything's going on—homework help and Quidditch practice do not count as 'being involved' with a girl, alright?" James snorted in response, disgruntled.

"Just make sure it doesn't go any further than that. I don't want to get in forty Galleons over my head, got it?"

"Well, maybe if you'd get a move on with Evans, you wouldn't worry so much about _me_ breaking _my _end of the deal," Sirius retorted, then grabbed his broom and the Quaffle and shut the locker room door on James' frustrated snarl.

"Blimey," he muttered, running his hand through his hair and sighing before taking a seat on the pitch to wait for Shacklebolt. He didn't feel any of James' uneasiness about the possibility of his hanging around with Shacklebolt escalating into anything more—if anything, the bet had excused him of the necessity of flirting with her while they exchanged help. Sure, he liked her—a lot. But since, by the rules of friendship, he couldn't act on it, he felt nothing but an enormous sense of relief.

"Wotcha, Black." He looked up to see Shacklebolt approaching, broom in hand, dressed in loose jeans and a football jersey. Sirius firmly ignored the tingle on his spine and raised an eyebrow.

"What, no robes?" She shook her head in response.

"The ones I'm borrowing are too bloody short. I spend half my time trying to get them to cover my ankles." She jerked her head upwards. "Shall we?" He gave a nod, stood, and tossed the Quaffle to her. Then he swung a leg over his broom and took off. Shacklebolt joined him in the air.

"So," she said as they hovered, "Where should we start?"

"Easy. Passing," Sirius answered, flying a little ways away from her. "Toss it back and forth until you don't even have to think about it any more." Shacklebolt gave him a skeptical look, but obediently threw the Quaffle to him, and they began. "You play football?" he asked her as he deftly caught the ball for about the tenth time. Rani opened her mouth to answer, but was thrown off by conversation, missed the Quaffle he threw back to her, and had to dive to retrieve it.

"You did that on purpose," she said accusingly, glaring at him as she rose again to his height. Sirius smiled at her indignation and gave a shrug.

"You've got to deal with distractions." But he remained silent for a bit, not wishing to provoke her frustration this early on.

"Kingsley played, back in primary school," she said finally, catching and throwing the ball without missing a beat. "I just wear the jersey for show." After a few more passes, she spoke again. "When did you join the Gryffindor team? Not the same year as Potter, right?"

"Nah, year after," Sirius answered, hiding his satisfaction at her ability to carry on a conversation. "One of the Chasers graduated, so I stepped in to take his place. You left off in fourth year, right?" She nodded.

"Yep. But Quinnalt sprained his back, so here I am again. Unfortunately for the team," she added, wrinkling her nose in self-mockery and causing the sapphire stud in it to sparkle.

"We'll get you in shape by next weekend. Come on, let's start moving around a bit." They began going through a few simple formations, the Quaffle never pausing in switching hands. Sirius allowed Shacklebolt a few minutes to regain her rhythm, then continued the conversation. "That's a gorgeous _Silverarrow_. I thought they went out of production."

"They did. My dad and I remodeled it—used to be his. It was more of his pet project than mine—I've got an old American Mustang sitting in the garage waiting for a new engine. Don't think it'll ever be done," she grunted, reaching to recover a pass to her right.

"Mustang?" Sirius repeated, his mind's eye providing the image of an old horse standing with its head down in a suburban garage, munching on the wiring. Then his Muggle vocabulary kicked in. "Oh!"

"Yeah. Never driven it. Don't think I ever will, really. I just want to get it in shape and sell it for some money, maybe for university."

"Let's move in front of the goal hoops. And university?" They shifted down to one end of the pitch. "Why go to university?"

"I've got no interest in sticking around the wizarding world much. I want to study music, travel around, get a job eventually. The wizarding world is so… confined. I mean, think about it—to go straight to working full time at the age of seventeen? Ick. Kings was always better than me at magic, anyway—he'll keep mum and dad occupied." Sirius fell briefly silent as he marveled over this insight. Somehow, he had never imagined Shacklebolt—or anybody else, really—giving up their wizarding heritage so willingly. He had taken some steps in that direction, sure: first by leaving his parents' house, then with his fascination with Muggle motorbikes and Muggle girls… But to honestly want to leave it just like that… he'd never actually considered it before.

"Right, shall we practice some feints?" he suggested, shaking his head slightly and getting back to Quidditch.

* * *

Several Quidditch practices and Potions tutoring sessions later, and Sirius was feeling confident both in his ability to resist girls and in his newfound potion-making skills. He had by now spent hours with Shacklebolt, and even though her intensity and nearness as she leant over him to correct something on his paper still made his stomach do flips, he had managed to avoid making provocative comments—well, mostly. Nevertheless, James was relentlessly on his case and on edge, made even worse by the fact that Lily was still refusing to talk to him at all after Halloween, not even to tell him off. After enduring a week of nagging he had never imagined from anyone but his mother, Sirius finally had enough and decided to intervene—as much for the sake of his impulse to flirt as for the sake of James.

So he stole some flowers out of the greenhouses (after first making sure they did not bite, sting, or honk), coerced Lupin into helping him conjure up some chocolates, and placed the whole stack outside of the common room with a very sappy and apologetic card. He then forged James' signature and lay in wait.

He found, however, after returning from a brief trip to the toilets, that somebody else had beaten Evans to the consolation prizes.

Shacklebolt sat against the wall in front of the Fat Lady, staring into space, the open box of chocolates balanced on her knees. She held one of them in her fingers as she took a bite and attempted to break the resulting string of caramel with her tongue, brow furrowing in annoyance. She had apparently not noticed Sirius's approach and, loathe as he was to interrupt the whole girl-slowly-and-sexily-munching-chocolates scene, he cleared his throat noisily. She glanced up without surprise and with no trace of guilt.

"Um, what exactly are you doing? Those were supposed to be for Evans!" he demanded of her, somewhat miffed. Shacklebolt raised one eyebrow and popped the rest of the chocolate into her mouth before picking up another.

"The peace offering doesn't count if it's made by the 'prat's' best mate," she answered slowly, sucking on the chocolate in one cheek. "Chocolate never ends well, anyway—just look at Narcissa and Bellatrix and their little tiff over Malfoy. And don't even get me started on the card."

"I- that wasn't- how did she know?" Sirius demanded, even more seriously miffed that his ploy had been discovered.

"Well, actually, _she_ has no idea- I took the liberty of removing the offending sweets before she caught sight of them. However, _I_ am aware that Potter is too damn proud to grovel just yet, and _you're_ the only one who's got your money in with him for this whole wager business, meaning you're the only one with a motive to get the two to make up. Remus and Pettigrew are betting the both of you will fail. You were just helping out your mate," she concluded matter-of-factly. "However, I do commend you on your choice of chocolate, and you're more than welcome to try a few," she added, holding the box up to him and shaking it slightly. Sirius regarded her with stunned disbelief, accepted the box, and slid down the wall to sit next to her with a thump.

"How did you know about the bet?"

"Remus, for one, is a very polite young man that, unlike the rest of you, actually takes challenging and worthwhile courses. He says I may even be better at Arithmancy than he is, though personally I despise the subject. We've been sharing notes with each other." Sirius glowered slightly, too distracted to note the amusement in her voice and the sidelong glance she gave him.

"He's not supposed to tell," he grumbled. "And if you know, why the bloody hell are you intercepting Lily's chocolate?" he added grumpily, popping a candy into his mouth and chewing somewhat vigorously. "You're go'n make me lo' twenty Galleon'!" Shacklebolt eyed him sideways and snorted at his chipmunk cheeks, grabbing the box back from him.

"I'd make you lose _forty_ Galleons, genius. And sabotage, I suppose," she drawled. "You boys are going to make me go on having these bloody mushy talks about 'emotions' and 'being all tied up and confused' with Evans. I've said it before— I'm not a psychiatrist, Black. I don't _do _mushy." Her blue-black eyes met Sirius' brown-black ones, and she burst into laughter at the glare he shot her. "Hey, me stealing your chocolate isn't so bad, you know. Imagine the havoc I could've wrecked the entire time you were coaching me this week; yet somehow I restrained myself." Sirius continued to be too preoccupied to notice the way her eyes gleamed with mischief, or to register that this was the first time he had heard her really laugh in conversation with him.

"Havoc how?" he scoffed. She was silent for awhile, regarding him as he selected another chocolate and brooded over how much longer he would have to endure James' nagging because of her.

"By doing this," she answered at long last. Sirius glanced up just as Shacklebolt's mouth met his, kissing him as slowly and smoothly as the caramel her lips tasted of.

Sirius couldn't kiss back for shock, every thought in his head going out like a candle, but his nerves suddenly very much aware. She broke off before long and sat back against the wall once more, wearing a slight smile with her face flushed, and watched him out of the corners of her eyes. Sirius's mouth was hanging open, yet he couldn't quite rouse himself to shut it.

"Havoc like that," she said slyly, reaching up to put yet another chocolate into her mouth. Havoc was certainly the word for it, as Sirius' synapses started firing again. "Frankly, I couldn't think of a more perfect form of revenge for all the trouble you and your mates have given me over the years. You'd be livid at just losing forty Galleons, but honestly—" she grinned at him "— I think you might like me too much. Although I must say, with all the experience you've had, I expected you to be a better-" But it was her turn to be interrupted as Sirius grabbed her hand to stop the chocolate reaching her lips and put his own mouth there instead, this time remembering just how his lips worked.


	11. Chapter 11

JustAnotherCrazyWriter, **I'm flattered as usual and agree about the fluffiness- had loads of fun writing it for that reason! Thanks to **krazydragon57**, and** **sshhh, miss **PhoenixAngel11—**you're one step ahead. **Notes-and-Photographs,** to say that Rani was 'awesome and original' is about the highest praise an OC can get, and I appreciate it! **SeeEVunCramp,** the 'squee' at the beginning was all I needed to read to be happy :-)**

**Chapter 11**

Rani wasn't quite sure what she had done or how it had happened, but she did know that it felt incredibly, amazingly _right_. In the past few minutes she had gone through a dawning sense of realization, a surge of daring, a torrent of nerves, and finally _this_—which she didn't even quite have a word for yet. It wasn't as though she had been _planning_ it, certainly—toying with the idea of flirting with him for the past week just to watch him squirm, sure. But not _this._ It hadn't even occurred to her until halfway through the conversation.

_Why the bloody hell didn't I think of this sooner?_ was the only thought that fought its way through her suddenly sluggish brain. _No wonder he's had so many girls after him it's become cliché. _The corners of her lips turned up and she placed her hands gently on the back of Sirius'—_Sirius Black's, for Merlin's sake!—_neck, deepening the kiss.

Sirius finally broke the second snog off but kept his face near, his thick-lashed brown eyes staring into hers and his lips stretching into a roguish grin. Rani was grateful she was the one with her back leaning against the wall, as the will to move seemed to have abandoned her muscles.

"You're right," he said in a low, husky voice that made goose bumps crawl over her arms as he surveyed her through lowered lashes, "I somehow can't manage to be livid quite yet." Rani had to take several deep breaths before replying.

"You can take it out on me in the match tomorrow," she said weakly. "As long as you haven't given away all your tricks." Sirius gave her a smoldering look that, had she not already been sitting down, probably would've made her knees collapse.

"Love, you don't have to worry about that."

* * *

Rani bobbed up and down in front of the goalposts, watching the Quaffle switch hands nervously and trying not to stray too far from her center hoop. Every sense in her body seemed to be super-heightened with her focus, and she was tense with nerves. Rani was blocking every other thought in her head out except those concerning Quidditch. The blocking-out process had been a long one—she'd spent most of breakfast poking at her food and staring dreamily into space. It wasn't until the cold autumn air and bright sun hit her on the way down to the stadium that she had snapped out of it, and by the time she had reached the locker rooms, she was coiled tight as a spring.

"And the Quaffle switches to Longbottom, Longbottom dodges Rinehart, ducks a Bludger, and passes it back to Black. Black's streaking up the pitch, towards the goals…" Rani watched him come with an intensity meant to block out any thoughts about the occurrences of the previous night outside Gryffindor Tower. She switched her gaze between Sirius' hands on the Quaffle and his eyes, watching for a feint. He came for the left hoop, but shifted on his broom as though about to go right. Rani knew his balance wasn't on, though, and didn't fall for it—she stretched out her hands and snatched the Quaffle out of the air before it could soar through the left goal.

"Oh, and he is denied by the Ravenclaw temporary Keeper, Rani Shacklebolt! The Quaffle goes back to Rinehart, and we resume play..." Rani finally allowed herself to catch Sirius' eyes, and he flashed her a split-second grin before streaking back up the pitch. But that split-second was all she needed for her thoughts to be pitched back to last night, his breath on her face, her hands on his neck… She couldn't believe she had done it, couldn't understand what had possessed her, knew that she ought to feel a severe blow to her pride that she had fallen prey to everyone's dreamboat… yet somehow it felt too damn right for that…

"He's streaking up the pitch, barely twenty feet from goal!"

"Ra, MOVE! SAVE IT!" Scott's shrieks brought her back to earth just in time to knock the Quaffle thrown by Longbottom away from the center hoop with her fist. It was quick and sloppy, but it worked. Her pulse skyrocketed with the near miss, and Rani forced her attention back to the game.

It was a near one, and they played for at least an hour and a half. The Gryffindor Chasers were good, but Rani had gotten back some of her previous talent, and even for most of the goals she missed the Ravenclaw Chasers matched them. The moment came, however, when she caught sight of Potter plummeting out of the sky like a hawk sighting prey, and she knew it was over—the Ravenclaw Seeker was too slow on the uptake. The final score, therefore, ended up being 240 to 260, and the Gryffindor side of the stands erupted in cheers, with considerable support from the Ravenclaws for their team as well.

Nearly a half hour later, Rani emerged from the locker rooms, still shaking out her heavy ropes of damp hair, having gone through the spell that kept them from being disgusting like dreadlocks maintained through Muggle means. With no sense of surprise, she found that Sirius was waiting for her, leaning casually against the barrier that surrounded the pitch. She walked up to him, trying not to allow the backflips her stomach was performing to reflect in her face or voice—something she had become quite good at.

"Isn't there a party going on in the Gryffindor common room, or something of that sort?" she asked him, stopping when she drew level. Sirius, whose eyes had been closed against the glare of the late-autumn sun, opened them and looked down at her with a wide smile.

"A small one. There'll be a bigger one once we knock you Ravenclaws out of the running for the Quidditch Cup once and for all." Rani shrugged.

"That's your business—Quinnalt's fit for the next match, and more power to him. I'm too out of practice to play in front of an entire stadium of people counting on me." They began walking out of the stadium and towards the castle. "So," she said at length, "Have you paid up yet?" She grinned sideways at him. To her surprise, Sirius grinned back, looking sly.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't. And I won't need to—well, depending." The grin slid off her face and she looked at him quizzically. "I technically didn't lose the bet," he told her, then chuckled at the look on her face.

"What? Lupin said no being involved with girls—"

"Ah. That explains it. Lupin was always one for modesty." Rani gave a disbelieving snort.

"No he isn't. You just have no knack for his subtleties. To listen to his snide little comments… quite hilarious, really." Sirius shot her a look.

"Guess I'll have to pay more attention, then. But he did word it slightly more… _sophisticatedly_ than the original wager." In response to Rani's questioning stare, he added bluntly: "I've only got to stop _sleeping around_ until James goes out with Lily. A little snog—" they locked eyes, then looked quickly away, Rani feeling a flush on her neck "—doesn't mean sleeping around." Rani gaped at him, feeling robbed of her delight in wrecking his plans. Sirius laughed out loud at the disbelieving look on her face.

"Well," she said, composing herself, "well, if you want to take it to court, I guess that argument would hold up very well. But somehow, I don't think Potter will see it that way. Neither will Pettigrew and Lupin, seeing as how they're the ones that stand to gain a pile of gold." Sirius' face grew serious.

"No, I doubt they will." There was a slight silence as they strolled in no particular hurry across the grounds.

"So… so what does that mean for…" Rani hesitated to use the word, but she had a hunch it was appropriate, "…us?" Sirius looked at her long and hard, thoughtful.

"We could wait, I suppose. Keep it a secret. I mean…" To her surprise Sirius flushed and glanced out over the lake. "It's not like we haven't been fooling ourselves for months. Why not fool everyone else?" She stared at him, while he studiously avoided looking anywhere in her vicinity. She knew he was right, and the thought made her squirm; yet she had no response to it.

"That's assuming, of course, that I _want_ you and Potter to win your bet," she joked weakly. He gave a very forced chuckle, but still didn't face her. "Or," she added, unable to handle the awkwardness, "we could give Evans and Potter a push in the right direction to hurry things up. Sort of along the lines of your botched attempt, but with more subtlety." His laughter was real this time, and he finally turned to smile at her, making her knees go weak. _Blimey, I never thought I'd become one of those damsel-in-distress types who swoon into their knights' arms._ Well, not _quite_ swooning—she was still too stubborn for that.

"So… you think you could work on Evans?"

"I think I can manage that. Meanwhile, tell Potter to back off. Let her come to him." They had finally reached the steps to the castle, and the two of them paused and looked at each other. "Well… I'll be seeing you, Black," Rani said with an attempt at formality, holding out a hand. Sirius grinned back and leaned in as though to kiss her. "Uh uh," she scolded, sidestepping nimbly out of the way even though her instincts screamed to kiss back. "It was your idea to wait, after all." With that, she gave him the most mischievous look she could muster and trotted up the steps. She could practically feel Sirius' indignation emanating off him, and Rani put an extra spring in her step, pleased she had found a way to throw a kink in his plans after all.

* * *

"I'd say it was a boy, but quite frankly, I've never seen Rani so pleased over a boy," Andromeda said wonderingly, eying the sparkle in Rani's eyes and the tiny smile etched into her mouth.

"It can't have been the Quidditch match—you lot lost. Maybe a really good grade?" Lily guessed, also examining the newfound buoyancy in her best friend.

"Nah, Ra doesn't get worked up about school." The two of them were silent for a while as a frigid breeze swept across the grounds and watched Rani as she comfortably rearranged the scarf around her neck, snuggling deeper into her cloak.

"Alright, I give up," Lily announced, looking stumped. "What's _up_ with you, Ra?" Rani, who had in fact been paying attention to their commentary with a distant amusement, merely smiled wider.

"Now that's just creepy," Andromeda said flatly, edging away slightly.

"Aren't I allowed to be in a good mood?" Rani demanded, still smiling. Lily and Andromeda exchanged looks, and then said simultaneously:

"No."

"Not _this_ good, at least," Lily amended.

"_I'm _supposed to be the one having strange fits, Ra, not you," Andromeda said.

"I haven't seen you like this since your parents bought that electric guitar for your fourteenth birthday," Lily added. Rani laughed, and her two friends looked seriously concerned for her sanity. "Ra, we've got a five page Transfiguration essay, a Charms practical, and a Potions exam within the next week. The teachers are being prats about actually making us _work_, even though we're months from being out of here, and the people in our year know each other way too well by now to actually get along. Potter, for example, is Exhibit A of this fact. A good mood is just not normal for seventh years." Rani stirred herself at this statement, recognizing a perfect opening for her to pester Lily. She finally suppressed her smile and rolled her eyes.

"Evans, stop kidding yourself. You told me barely a week ago that you like Potter 'a lot'." Lily stopped dead in her tracks and pierced Rani with a glare as Andromeda gave a delighted whoop at this piece of gossip.

"I _knew_ it!"

"So did everybody else," Rani pointed out, fixing Lily with her own stare.

"What I _also_ told you was that I was completely furious with him," she insisted, narrowing her green eyes dangerously.

"You know," Rani said, in a tone as though commenting on the weather, "I bet if you actually put aside all this flirting and playing hard-to-get business—" Lily made a strangled noise of indignation "—you and Potter might actually find you're perfect for each other. Then again," she added, starting to walk again and allowing the smile to return to her face. "Maybe you just have too much fun being absolutely frustrating." She strolled away, knowing exactly what look Andromeda and Lily were exchanging behind her back. _Take the bait, Lily, _she urged silently, _it really is wicked advice._ She allowed her grin to widen.

"You know," she heard Andy mutter. "I'm thinking maybe it _is_ a boy." Lily gave a very loud snort, clearly miffed at Rani's blunt rebuke.

"No it isn't. What boy could put up with her cynicism for more than five minutes?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sirius Black sat at the Gryffindor table on Monday and fidgeted with his oatmeal spoon, glancing between James and, further down the table, Evans. He was wondering how he would be able to dissipate practically seven years of playing hard-to-get, and not getting very far doing it. James' eyes were stationary—and fixed on Evans, who was determinedly not looking his way. Sirius spoke before he had really thought.

"Padfoot, mate, have you ever thought of just giving Evans up?" he said in a low voice. James stiffened and turned his head slowly to stare almost menacingly at his best friend, who realized that he had suggested something resembling treason and immediately rushed to correct it. "No! Not give her up. I mean just… not go after her all the time. Give her a little break from our pestering. Put the ball in her court and let her come to you." James' menacing look shifted to pensive, as though this idea had never occurred to him before.

"It would never work with her. She'd think I'd finally lost interest. Which I haven't, obviously."

"Did you apologize for Halloween?"

"I didn't _do_ anything!" James said indignantly, his mouth holding a mulish set to it. Sirius raised one eyebrow at his mate and waited. "Oh, all right, I tried. But she refuses to listen!"

"That's why I'm suggesting the whole 'ignoring the crazy bird' scheme, Padfoot! Go on, give it a try." When James didn't look convinced, Sirius dropped his wheedling tone and leaned forward slightly. "Look, mate, please give it a rest. For my sake." James eyed him suspiciously.

"For your sake? Not for hers?" Then his face dawned into comprehension. "Oooh." He grinned evilly. "Getting a bit antsy, mate?" Sirius, who had experienced a brief surge of panic thinking James guessed he had slightly bent the rules of the bet, relaxed and punched James on the arm in a convincingly indignant way.

"You need to get a move on, that's all," Sirius grunted.

"Right," James snorted in return. "Whatever. I've got to grab my Potions book before class." He wriggled off of the bench and strolled out of the hall, his head turning slightly as he passed Lily. Sirius didn't quite have time to assess his progress in changing the way James interacted with Evans when one of his cousins filled the vacant spot.

"I know something you don't know," Andromeda sang, brown eyes twinkling. Sirius watched her warily as he fought another surge of panic. Had Rani told?

"Oh yeah?" he said coolly. "What's that?" Andromeda practically bounced up and down in her seat.

"Malfoy fancies Narcissa. I caught her up in the Owlery and managed to read most of the letter over her shoulder before she noticed me—ooh, she was _livid_. She tried to jinx me and made me swear not to tell Bella. Don't know if I'll keep my promise, though." She cocked her head to one side, considering it.

"Bellatrix isn't going to like that," Sirius remarked sardonically.

"Oh, I can guarantee she won't," she answered happily. They sat for a moment in silence, contemplating the row bound to ensue from this juicy bit of information.

"Speaking of scandal in the family," Sirius finally said, breaking the silence, "How're you doing?" Andromeda understood he wasn't merely asking about her everyday well-being and sighed.

"Well, I Flooed to visit Ted last Wednesday and obviously he was quite shocked… but he ended up as thrilled as you can be about… these sorts of things. He's coming to St. Mungoe's with me on my next appointment."

"So Evans and Shacklebolt are out of a job," Sirius observed, smiling slightly. Andromeda shook her head.

"Lily is. Rani never went in the first place, although she doesn't know the offer's expired because I haven't gotten her in the right mindset to even tell her I've talked to Ted. She's been in a bizarre mood lately. Mostly she just smiles or raises her eyebrows, and says 'wicked' in response to most anything." Sirius felt a slight surge of guilt that was overshadowed by his delight at so successfully distracting Rani, and quickly hid a smile in his morning orange juice. Meanwhile, 'Dromeda stared off into the distance and tapped her fingers to her lips. "I can't wait to find out what's with her. Because something is definitely up. I suspect a boy, but Lily disagrees—and when Lily the Romantic doesn't suspect romance, you know you're off the mark." Sirius snorted into his juice, and Andromeda shot him a look. "You okay?" Sirius coughed and nodded as he wiped his mouth on his napkin.

"Fine. It's true, that's all. You about ready to go? Want to walk down to Potions together?" Sirius was afraid he had rushed this last sentence too much, but Andromeda appeared not to take notice.

"Yeah, okay," she shrugged, and they sauntered out of the Great Hall together, book bags slung over their shoulders.

* * *

Sirius was so busy staring fixedly at his scales, refusing to let his mind wander, that he forgot to actually focus on what he was doing, nudged the scales off balance, and was rewarded with one of the suspended bowls slipping off and landing right on his toe.

"Yeowch!" he yelped, with a sharp intake of breath. Thankfully, the hissing of steam and crackling of fires all around mostly masked his exclamation. All the same Rani, sitting as usual with Lily and 'Dromeda at the table in front of him, James, and Remus, glanced back at the noise and grinned. This of course did not help: while giving her a very cool half-grin in return, Sirius allowed his hand to stray too near the edge of his cauldron and scorched a finger on the edge. Rani very helpfully covered up his swearing with a loud fit of coughing meant to disguise her own laughter.

"You had any luck with Potter?" she muttered out of the corner of her still upturned mouth, maneuvering around her cauldron so Sirius was presented with her profile, outlined in pinkish steam. He shook his head the slightest bit in answer, checking to make sure Moony was busy with his own potion and James was busy staring dreamily at Lily yet again.

"No," he whispered back, "There's not a chance of him actually leaving her in peace. It would 'give her the wrong impression'. As though she could possibly mistake his feelings," he added with a soft snort. Rani heaved a little sigh.

"Unfortunately true," she answered, musing. "It's her own stupid pride, of course." Sirius shot her a very shrewd look, opened his mouth to ask if this attitude reminded Rani of anyone, and very wisely shut it again as he saw Andromeda glance around briefly. Rani smiled at her, then continued as she went back to work. "I'm sure if you managed to force the two of them into the same room, lock the door, and throw away the key, they'd eventually come to their senses. But let's face it—that's not likely."

Sirius cocked his head to one side in what he knew to be a charmingly flirtatious gesture. "Sounds a lot like incarceration. Or detention." He chuckled a bit at his own joke, then caught Rani's large, dark eyes gleaming at him with the light of a sudden idea. Sirius let his chuckle die as they stared at each other. His jaw dropped as his mind caught up with hers. "You—I mean—oh come on, seriously, has she ever even _had_ a detention?" "Only once," Rani said, a mischievous, bare-toothed grin plastered all over her face. "And only because of me. Practical joke on the caretaker gone wrong, and all that. Actually, I'm pretty sure that's why he resigned." Sirius stared at her a little longer.

"Think you could do it?"

"Oh yeah. No problem. Missing homework assignments here, botched Potions there—she gets most of her more brilliant ideas from me anyway. Give it a week, and Slughorn will be just put out enough to punish his star student a tiny bit." They looked at each other and slowly, slowly, Sirius's face broke out in a grin that matched Rani's own.

* * *

The thick vellum envelope barely missed James's plate of Shepard's pie at lunch; the owl that dropped it hardly slowed as he swooped low over the table. A hush fell over those seated in the immediate vicinity, and Sirius could tell all eyes within a ten-foot radius were fixed on the purple seal of the Potters emblazoned across the message.

"The Christmas list," Peter squeaked, gaze also fixed on the envelope in James's hands. Sirius calmly continued with his Shepard's pie, pretending to ignore the arrival.

"Bullocks, they've gotten a bit ahead of themselves with this whole 'formal Christmas Eve' thing, haven't they? Special parchment and everything this year," James remarked as he broke the seal and pulled out the letter inside to scan it.

"Face it—you've started a tradition that you aren't going to get out of," Sirius muttered to him, eyeing the faces turned expectantly towards James all around. "You've set a precedent. It's the party of the year, where people discover if they're in or out." James snorted impatiently.

"Either way, it means an evening spent being a gracious host and sweating in a stuffy old tux." Sirius sniggered.

"They don't see it that way," he pointed out, jerking a head at the quiet crowd around them. James glanced up, wrinkled his nose in rueful acknowledgement, then set the list of invitees on the table and stretched ostentatiously.

"Well, let them have their fun then. I'm not going to do my mum's dirty work for her. If she wants to invite them to her bloody annual party, she can write them their own personal letters herself." And leaving the list on the table in plain sight, James stood, picked up his bag, and glanced expectantly back at Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who were all watching him. "Well? You lot coming?" he demanded. Sirius glanced at the growing group of hawk-eyed watchers, waiting to swoop on the list as soon as James had gone, to search eagerly for their names.

"Oh yes. Definitely," Sirius drawled. He stood and walked out with his mates, having no desire to witness the desperate position seeking of the unpopular yet again. James's Christmas Eve party… how could he have possibly forgotten?


	13. Chapter 13

**HA! And you were all convinced I'd given up. It may take a ridiculously long time, but this story WILL get done!**

**Chapter 13**

Andromeda Black stalked up to the table nestled at the base of the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and flung a letter down on the tabletop. She then sat down herself with a thunderous expression and a loud huff. Rani glanced up and tilted her head to one side quizzically.

"Black Christmas Eve party," Andromeda said by way of explanation, jerking her chin in a manner that invited Rani to take a look at the parchment on the table. Obediently, she grabbed the letter and scanned it, then looked back up at Andy.

"So? They do it every year. What's got you in such a fit?" Andy bit her lip.

"Because I'm going to tell them. About me. And Ted." Rani's mouth opened slightly. "I know, I know!" Andromeda exclaimed, correctly reading Rani's expression of shock. "You thought I was kidding when I said I was going to tell them at Christmas way back around Halloween. I wasn't. Like I said, it's not like Black family dinners are particularly cheerful affairs anyway." Rani quickly recovered and considered her friend seriously.

"I'm glad you're sticking to your word, 'Dromeda. But you're aware, I'm assuming, that this could get quite nasty?" Andy rolled her eyes.

"Duh."

"Yelling and screaming sort of nasty?"

"Of course."

"Possibly resorting to jinxes sort of nasty?"

"I look forward to it. I've even already talked to James Potter, who offered to let me stay in his family's manor for the holidays. He'll give me a room next to Sirius, since I probably won't be welcome at home. Shame."

"Well, that settles it then," Rani announced, decisively shutting her textbook. "You're taking me with you as a bodyguard, just like I said I'd do last month." Andy, knowing better than to argue, grinned.

"I'm counting on it. There's just one thing that's worrying me."

"Yes?" Andromeda fixed her with an accusing stare.

"That's about the twentieth time in the past week that you've called me 'Dromeda. You rarely call me 'Dromeda. Usually it's 'Andy' with you and Lily. The only person who always calls me 'Dromeda is Sirius. Have you been hanging out with Sirius lately, Ra?" Rani sincerely hoped her blanching was not obvious and was silently thankful that she did not blush visibly.

"Pull your head out of your arse, Andy, and get to work," she grunted with a smile. Andromeda giggled, and even though she shot Rani a look that was far more suspicious than her liking, she let the subject drop and began her homework.

* * *

Lily Evans was very agitated, and was not afraid to let the rest of the world know it.

"Where the bloody hell could it have gone?" she muttered in a vehement hiss, rummaging through her book bag.

"What?" Rani asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"My Potions essay! I stayed up _bloody_ late last night and now I can't find the _bloody_ thing anywhere. _Bloody_ _hell_!" she repeated, in a voice that escalated in annoyance. Rani did not reply, her thoughts bringing to mind the roll of parchment currently stuffed under a nest in the Owlery where she had hidden it that morning. After managing to slip it out of Lily's Potions textbook late the previous night, of leaned casually against the courtyard wall and tried to change the subject. She wanted to land Evans in detention, of course, but she didn't want her getting all worked up and distressed about it.

"Have your parents made up their minds about plans over the Christmas holidays?" Lily barely glanced up, but the pace of her frantic searching slowed a bit.

"Yeah. Looks like we'll just be bumming around my grandmama's house for Christmas dinner, and then taking off Christmas day for a ski trip. Bully for me." Evans hated skiing. Or sports in general. "What about you? Are you staying around here or what?"

"Well," Rani answered, "I was given the option, but I think I'm going home. Mum and Dad have some important benefit to go to on Christmas Eve—or it could be top secret Auror work, who knows. Anyway, they should be back ridiculously early Christmas morning, and we'll do the whole family dinner thing at some point that night. I think Kingsley wants to stick around Hogwarts, though. Regulus isn't going home for the holidays. Can't say I blame him," she added darkly. "Given what he'd be going home to."

"He was born into that family—he's bred to handle the horrid behavior," Lily remarked snidely. "What about Andromeda?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot. That's the other part of my plans for Christmas Eve. I've volunteered to put in an appearance at the Black family dinner to stop them seriously injuring Andy when she tells them she's preggers."

"Damn!" Lily said, in a tone that Rani took to be awed.

"I know," she answered. "I'll be taking several weapons and protective amulets, trust me."

"No, it's just, I was about to invite you to dinner with me on Christmas Eve, since your parents are going to be out. I figured Gran's stories might be a bit less boring with a fresh pair of ears to sit through them."

"Oh, so my purpose is to alleviate your boredom, is it?" Rani said indignantly. Lily smiled and put her bag back over her shoulder as the bell rang to signal the end of their break.

"Well, it would have been. But you clearly have other plans."

"Glad I have a mission in life," Rani muttered, following Lily into the castle.

* * *

Kingsley wasn't at all happy with his older sister.

"Look, Ra, even Regulus thinks you should pass on this whole dinner thing. And it's his family!" Rani shifted her weight impatiently against the statue of the singing house-elves and slung her bag to the other shoulder.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, Kings—he probably knows better than anyone that his family is no joy to be around. But I'm _going_ with Andromeda, and that's that."

"But _why?_" Kingsley demanded for the umpteenth time. Rani hesitated for a fraction of a second. Thus far, nobody else had been told about Andy's pregnancy—although she had gained a bit of weight, her stomach was not yet anything that couldn't be hidden with the proper clothes. Brother or not, Rani decided that Kingsley did not need to know about the new addition to the Black family just yet.

"Because Andy's being forced to go, and I'm slightly worried about what will happen to her with the household in the current state—you know, the violent sibling rivalry between Narcissa and Bellatrix? I'm afraid they might demand she take sides. Or worse, referee the duel. Because I feel sure they'll have one eventually." Kingsley gave a snort, but his face didn't lighten much. Rani heaved a sigh. Her brother was always one to worry. Apparently it was a side effect of actually taking on responsibilities. "Hey, what else am I going to do on Christmas Eve?"

"The Potter party?" It was Rani's turn to snort.

"It's in two weeks, and I haven't gotten an invitation. Whatever would I wear?" That finally coaxed a chuckle out of her brother.

"Because I'm _sure _you care. Out of curiosity, what are you doing out here?" he added, glancing around at the vacant hallway somewhere en route to Gryffindor tower.

"I'm… waiting for Evans."

"Ah. Of course you are."

"Oh, don't give me that tone."

"Tone? What tone? I wasn't giving you a tone. There's someone to see you, by the way. " Rani whirled around; she hadn't honestly been expecting anyone to meet her, she had merely been strategically lurking and hoping to get lucky. Apparently she had.

"Bye Kings," she said pointedly, her eyes fixed on whom else but Sirius Black, walking quickly towards her and looking positively gleeful.

"I _knew_ it," Kingsley muttered out of the corner of his mouth, turning to continue down the hallway. Rani gave his bag a kick to hurry him on his way, silently cursing her brother's observant nature. "Hi," she said brightly to Sirius as he drew level with her, beaming.

"Hey," he answered and, without giving her a chance to ask, continued, "Guess what?"

"What?"

"James and Lily have _three_ detentions together, one for each of their missing assignments!" Rani stared at him blankly for a split second, then burst into giggles. Sirius stared at her.

"I'm sorry…" she said, seeing his face, "it's just…" more giggles "you sound absolutely thrilled… about their punishment… I just think it's… funny..." Sirius looked nonplussed for a second more, changed his expression to mild indignation, and finally seemed to settle on a reaction to her mirth. He swooped nearer, took Rani's face in one hand, and kissed her on her still-laughing mouth. She stopped mid-chuckle.

"I _am_ thrilled," he told her. "Because it means that if this works, I'll get to do that on a daily basis. At least. And in public, too." And, smiling deviously, he loped off down the corridor, leaving Rani holding on to the house-elf statue for support, her bag fallen at her feet.

"Hey," was all she could manage as he walked away. "Hey! You cheated! I said wait!" He glanced back and gave her a grin that made her ears burn.

"Don't be silly, love, it's not like you _meant_ it!" And he disappeared around the corner, leaving Rani glaring without any conviction at the point he had vanished at.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"I hate being presentable," Sirius muttered, straightening the lapels of his dinner jacket—no stuffy dress robes required for the forward-thinking Potter family. "It's so bloody uncomfortable."

"Oh, stop complaining," James said flippantly, slipping on his own jacket. "You get dinner out of it, don't you? And the delight of critiquing your fellow guests." He nudged Sirius out of the way to check his own reflection in the ornate hall mirror, performing the necessary action of running his fingers through his hair. "You know the company Mum and Dad keep—it's bound to be entertaining as usual."

"Don't you tell me to stop complaining! You hate dress clothes and formal functions as much as any other normal teenager; I know you, James Potter." James' response was to shrug and start on his way down the sweeping mahogany staircase, heading for the large double front doors and steady trickle of guests arriving. "Um, Prongs, where are you going? Dining hall's down the corridor on the right. I think your Mum's got the job of greeter under control."

"I said I'd meet Lily at the front door," James called over his shoulder.

"You WHAT?" Sirius felt his jaw drop as he stopped halfway down the stairs. "Lily _Evans_? At the door?"

"Yeah," James answered with a nonchalance that didn't reach the tense line of his shoulders. "She's coming? For dinner?" Sirius demanded.

"No Padfoot, she's going to eat out of our dumpsters in back. Of _course_ for dinner!"

"Well, ex_cuse_ me for needing to clarify. You asked her and… I mean… she said _yes?_"

"Yes she said yes!" James snapped, definitely annoyed now. Sirius held his hands up in a defensive gesture and continued the rest of the way down the stairs to stand at his mate's side. He was dying to ask if this counted as a romantic date, or "just friends", but decided James had been patronized enough. He had his eyes fixed on the doors, his leg almost imperceptibly jiggling in a nervous gesture.

"Right mate, I'm going in to sit down," Sirius said, clapping Prongs briefly on the shoulder before making his way down the long corridor to the right of the stairs.

It was a mere five minutes later when James entered the dining room and slid into the seat next to Sirius, who looked around and raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" he said, duly noting the lack of a red-haired girl at his mate's side.

"She dashed upstairs to say hi to Andromeda," James said by way of explanation. "Blimey, they've outdone themselves this year, haven't they?" He jerked his head to indicate the dining room at large. Despite having attended the Potter's party for the past several years, Sirius had to agree with him: the setting cut an impressive sight.

The long ebony table stretched down the center of the room, lit from above by glowing, multi-colored fairy lanterns that floated serenely near the ceiling. Petite fir trees decorated with silver ribbon and white candles stood in each of the four corners of the room, and candelabras in the shapes of sprawling silver vines cast a sparkle over plain silver goblets and simple white plates. To top it off, a shimmery cloud of enchantment that was never there when you looked straight at it suffused the entire scene.

"Sorry about that. Hi Sirius." Sirius glanced up and smiled at Lily Evans as she took the seat on James' other side, looking very pretty in a jade-colored dress. James apparently thought she looked pretty too, as he beamed happily in her direction.

"Hey Evans. Where's Andromeda?" Sirius said as way of greeting, raising his goblet to take a sip of wine.

"Still in her room, trying to convince Rani to come down for dinner before they go off to the Black house to collect Andy's stuff." Sirius made an extremely unattractive noise and had to reach for his napkin as he inhaled his wine and nearly exhaled it through his nose.

"Wh-what?" he choked between coughs as his eyes teared up. He looked accusingly at James.

"Oh yeah," James said, giving him a grin that was somewhere between sheepish and mischievous. "Shacklebolt's here."

"Andy and I made sure she was invited," Lily chimed in with an overly innocent air, definitely burying a smile in her own goblet.

"Oh," was all Sirius could manage without sounding like a gaping idiot. He forced himself to look around at the arriving guests, trying to be interested in spotting his classmates with their parents as he silently berated himself. Had it really become so obvious that he fancied Shacklebolt that Lily was now plotting their union? Uselessly plotting, unbeknownst to her. But still, it did make life far more awkward than necessary… Sirius was eventually yanked out of these speculations as a manicured hand settled on the back of the chair opposite him.

"Hey, Sirius. Mind if we sit?" Andromeda asked, pulling the chair back and looking at him expectantly. He glanced up at his cousin, then moved his gaze past her to the girl taking the next seat over. He managed a mute jerk of the head towards the chair as answer to Andromeda's question.

Rani Shacklebolt looked downright nauseous in all her fancy clothes, but the thin set of her lips did nothing to diminish the effect of her outfit as she sat. The satiny midnight blue of her gown brought out the color in her sultry, smoky-shadowed eyes, which appeared even larger than usual with her ropes of hair twisted back in a bun. The plunging neckline and halter cut drew attention to her collarbone, dusted with an accent of shimmery powder that trailed downwards towards her chest; and as she turned slightly sideways Sirius caught a glimpse of her strong back, showcased by the dress's lack of fabric until nearly too far down. To him she looked, without exaggeration, stunning.

"Wotcha, Black," Rani greeted, arranging herself in the chair with a distasteful expression on her face. "Nice suit." Sirius hurriedly shook his head and flashed a quick grin back at her, but was unable to stop staring. "So, Evans," she continued, very obviously avoiding his eyes. "Thanks for not telling us until _tonight_ that you've finally given in to Potter's rather debatable charms." Lily arched an eyebrow at her friend as James pulled an offended face.

"Because I'll never hear the end of it as it is," she shot back. "You can't blame me for wanting a few more weeks of peace."

"A few more weeks? You two lovebirds have been planning this for _weeks?_" 'Dromeda cut in, looking downright miffed she had not been informed sooner.

" 'Lovebirds'? That is precisely why I didn't—" Lily began in indignation, but James cut her off.

"Hey, Lily, look—other people have ordered from their plates. That means we're allowed. Want to take a look at the list?" He offered her a beautifully printed menu that had suddenly appeared on the table, which she snatched and immediately buried her nose in huffily. Rani finally caught Sirius' eye and smiled before looking quickly at her own menu.

"Petit filet!" she announced to her plate.

* * *

The last of the entrees had been cleared from the plates and the guests were chatting contentedly in the interval before dessert, some rising to explore the small garden outside the side door. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were in their element, making their rounds among the invitees. But in the midst of it all, Sirius could tell Andromeda and Rani were both getting antsy; Andromeda's impatience in particular was obvious, as her face steadily grew paler and her napkin became increasingly twisted in her nervous fingers.

"Why don't you just go?" Sirius suggested in a low voice. "Get it over with. I'd offer to come, but you know…" He paused, thinking of the nasty New Year's he had experienced last year. "I don't think I'd help your case much." Andromeda let out a weak chuckle.

"No, you'd better stay here and be social some more. He has a point though, Ra—can we please just go?"

"Dear god, I thought you'd never say it," Rani answered, throwing her napkin down on the table in preparation to get up. "This much respectability in one room makes my stomach turn."

"I'll walk you out," Lily piped up. "James, will you come? Sirius?"

"I fancy a breather outside, to tell you the truth," Sirius answered. "Let me know somehow if you two get into trouble, got it?" he added, addressing his cousin. "Send up an alarm. I'd say fetch Scotland Yard, but you know how useless they'd be against our family." Andromeda managed a rueful smile.

"Unfortunately true. Well, ready Ra? I figure you'll want to get changed into clothes more comfortable for… well, either fleeing or fighting, not sure which."

"Well now, that sounds ominous," Lily drawled, making her way towards the door. "Ra, look, it's Dumbledore!"

"Oh yeah, Mum and Dad invite him every year. He usually puts in an appearance. And usually right before dessert, conveniently enough," James remarked. "Evening, Professor!"

"Good evening Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, Mr. Black!" Dumbledore greeted, treating their little group to a kindly smile. "You'll excuse my abruptness, but might I have a word with Miss Black and Miss Shacklebolt?" 'Dromeda and Rani paused and looked at each other, nonplussed. "Forgive me, you appear to be on your way out."

"No, no Professor, it's quite alright," Andromeda assured him. "Walk us out?" Lily and James glanced at each other and sank back down in their chairs as Dumbledore ushered the other two girls out.

"Wonder what that's about?" James wondered out loud. "Padfoot, where you going?"

"Out, like I said. I'm dying in this jacket," Sirius answered truthfully, heading towards the glass side doors.

Once out in the chilled night air, Sirius spent long enough time in human form to make his way to the outer reaches of the garden, and then gratefully closed his eyes. Almost immediately, he felt the weight of his stuffy suit and even his own skin disappear as a deep, gentle ache, like growing pains, gathered in his bones. After the usual few moments of a feeling rather like vertigo accompanied by a prickling sensation all over his body, Sirius the dog opened his eyes and snuffled a bit to get rid of the post-transfiguration jitters. Delighting as usual in the rush of more intense smells and sounds, Sirius scratched behind an ear and then trotted off to explore the garden further from a dog's eye view.

He never failed to enjoy the times he spent as a dog—it was somehow far less pressure to be an animal than to be a human. As he strolled along flagstone paths Sirius was finally able to replay the night so far, savoring again the sight of Rani in her gown, the dinner conversation (which had improved greatly, after some initial tense moments), and the fact that _Lily had finally said yes to James_. This in itself was big news worthy of celebration, but combined with the fact that Sirius could finally be with Rani it became worthy of a few gleeful yips and bounds—actions which were, of course, generally frowned upon if you were a boy, but perfectly acceptable as a canine.

Sirius had just completed a few invigorating laps around a nearby clump of butterfly bushes (complete with real, gently glowing butterflies) and was making his way back along the paths to the dining room when he caught a waft of a smell that was definitely not dirt or plant related. Curious, he followed the scent—it was something like fresh cedar smoke laced with roses and cream liqueur—to the nearest of various little clearings worked into the landscape. To his considerable surprise, the thread of perfume lead to Rani, sitting on the edge of a bench looking like a miserable combination of tense, worried, and grieved. The fingers of one hand gripped the edge of the seat as she stared into space with a crease between her eyebrows, one silver satin-clad foot tapping out a steady beat. She held a letter written on heavy parchment loosely in the other hand.

Sirius hesitated and sat down at the entrance to the clearing, watching Rani with his head cocked to one side. Her tapping continued, changing slowly from a steady beat to a more syncopated rhythm, then gradually seeming to travel from her toes to the fingers of her empty hand as they slowly began to beat out a more complicated, catchy rhythm, occasionally accompanied by an open-handed slap on the bench. Fascinated, Sirius watched as Rani created her own dance-worthy song without appearing to be aware of it, her eyes fixed alternately on the letter in her hand and into space.

About the time Sirius became aware of the fact that his tail was thumping in time to the beat, Rani abruptly stood up, crumpling the letter in her hand. Sirius scrambled hurriedly out of the way and into the shadow of a tree as she swept towards him and out onto the path, ushering the scent of roses, smoke, and liqueur past his nose as she went. Intrigued, he followed at an acceptable distance, instinct telling him it was better not to be seen. He screeched to a halt as they encountered Andromeda on the path, clearly in search of her mate.

"Ra? What's it about?" she asked in a low voice, jerking her chin towards the parchment in Shacklebolt's hand.

"My parents. There's been an attack on one of the Auror gatherings—there's a leak somewhere in the agency. Dark wizards, possibly 'The Dark Lord's lot. Mum and Dad are fine," Rani added hurriedly as Andromeda blanched visibly. "But they have to go into hiding—they've received personal threats. So they won't be home for… a long time. Maybe not for months. I can stay at home, they think; they're making it obvious they're leaving for whoever might be watching. But… it's just… well, Kingsley's not exactly high-maintenance, and he's probably going to be fine with the news… but shit, he's my little brother, Andy, not my kid! What am I going to _do_ with him?" Andromeda stared at what was visible of her friend in the light coming from the dining room, then put one hand gently on her shoulder.

"Ra, you're right about Kingsley—he'll be fine. He'll understand you're no parent. But, well… look, we'll figure this whole parenting thing out together, ok? Except you get to start after the diaper and nose-picking stage." Rani gave a little snort.

"You make it sound like they're never coming back, 'Dromeda. I'm sure it'll be okay. But yeah, sure, if you want to look at it as parenting. Look, can we just—can we finally get out of here? I'd like to get this showdown with your relatives over with, because I could certainly use a cup of something… either alcoholic or caffeinated, I'm not sure which." Andromeda laughed, grabbed Rani by the wrist, and lead the way off around the side of the house to the outdoor patio and the fireplace therein.

Sirius sat in the path where the girls had left him, feeling slightly numb with information. An attack on the Auror office? Threats? Dark wizards running about? It sounded to him like the Ministry was facing more problems than the _Daily Prophet_ let on. He glanced towards the dinner party in progress-- the mixed sounds of clinking glasses and the consumption of dessert drifting out into the garden-- and marveled silently at how unconcerned they all were. Then he glanced towards the direction Rani had taken and wondered, sadly, what would happen to her family. _And to think,_ Sirius thought with some melancholy, _I was just happy to be allowed to kiss her whenever I want._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Traitor!" Andromeda tensed as Druella Black made a move for her wand. Rani swiftly stepped between her best friend and her mother.

"Madam Black, please--"

"I give you the greatest gift, the purest blood you could hope for, a home, wealth—and this is how you repay me? By being a little _whore?"_

"You think _I'm_ the whore?" Andy shrieked from over Rani's shoulder. "Have you taken a good look at Bella recently? Or Cissy?" She threw a nasty glance towards the dining room, where her sisters were standing near the table with the rest of the Black family, watching the standoff like wolves. "You do know Cissy and Malfoy are screwing behind your back, don't you?" she snarled maliciously at Bella. Rani's mouth fell open— Andromeda so rarely got mad, but when she did she knew how to do it right. The looks Narcissa and Bellatrix were exchanging were nothing short of murderous; Bella even let out an ominous snarl. But Druella wasn't done yet.

"Malfoy? Good! A nice, blue-blooded wizard to uphold the family honor, not some filthy little _Mudblood_. You, you don't even deserve to be part of this family anymore! You're done! Finished! No better than your conniving bastard of a cousin!" At this, Rani decided she'd had enough of her friend half-cowering behind her while Druella hurled insults. She drew her wand and grabbed Andy's hand, edging towards the door as she yelled:

"She was _never_ part of this family, and she's the better for it! So why don't you go worry about your cheating sluts of daughters and leave Andromeda alone? She's not yours anymore!" Druella let out a roar of fury and made a swift movement with her wand that made Andy yank Rani towards the front hall, narrowly avoiding the curse that shattered the doorframe above her head. Two jinxes, probably from Andromeda's sisters, came sailing through the door after it.

"Out!" Andy ordered, pulling Rani towards the front door. "It's done! Get out!" They barely managed to get the front door open and shut behind them before another curse cracked the floorboards at their feet. The freezing air outside Grimmauld Place felt wonderful, but they weren't out of danger yet—they'd Flooed to the house, but Andy couldn't Apparate away from it because of her pregnancy. And they obviously couldn't Floo back.

"Night Bus," Rani said curtly, and Andy immediately flung out her arm. Three seconds later, the familiar violently purple double-decker appeared on the curb in front of them. The girls practically shoved past the conductor as he made as though to step out to greet them and paused, panting, next to the driver's seat.

"Where to, missus?" the conductor asked, looking slightly ruffled at their entrance. They looked at each other, the question _what now?_ unspoken between them. A glance back at the door to Grimmauld Place showed the livid face of Druella standing and screeching into the night after them.

"I need to go to Teds'," Andy said quietly, the fight slowly going out of her. "Please, just… I need Ted." Rani nodded and relayed the directions to the driver as Andromeda made her way back to a bed. After adding her own set of directions, Rani wearily followed. Home, even an empty home without parents or brother, and even on Christmas Eve, had never sounded so inviting before.

* * *

Kingsley's favorite owl from the Hogwarts owlery met Rani at the door.

"Beelzebub, I feel like even owls shouldn't be up at this hour," she muttered at him as she unlocked the door, shooting a backward glance towards the lightening sky. He nipped at the hem of her gown and trailed her inside—she'd never gotten around to changing into sensible clothes before making the trip to Grimmauld Place, and by now her gown was wrinkled and her hair was falling out of its bun. "Just give me a second," she told the owl wearily, heading straight for the liquor cabinet. She was in desperate need of a nightcap.

After pouring a glass of whiskey, she detached the note from the owl's leg. _Ra_, it read, _Dumbledore told me what happened. I hope Mum and Dad are alright. They are, right? He said you're staying home. I'm not so sure that's wise. What if one of the Death Eaters is still around? It isn't safe—I don't know why Dumbledore thought it was. Please come back to Hogwarts. Love, Kingsley._

Rani shook her head and took a gulp of whiskey before turning the parchment over to reply in pen on the back: _Kings, Don't worry about me, or Mum and Dad—we'd know by now if something had happened to them. Dumbledore had the house taken off the Floo network, and you know we've got all those security spells set. I'll be fine until New Year's; besides, I'd go stir-crazy back at school all holiday. I'll have Andy over if I get lonely. Have a good Christmas, and don't eat all the Frogs I sent you at once. Love, Ra._

"I wish I could see his look of disapproval. You'll have to tell me about it," she told Beelzebub conversationally as she reattached the note to his leg. "Now go on." The owl obediently hopped out the kitchen window with a last nip farewell, and Rani poured another glass of whiskey. Despite her exhaustion, she bypassed the stairs and wandered to the garage, pausing to plug in the space heater by the door. She cast a longing glance at her drum set and thought briefly of her guitar, but bypassed them to crawl onto the hood of her Mustang and lay back against the windshield. Rani took a deep breath, fully prepared to lay awake and staring at the ceiling for an hour before the events of the night finally let her go upstairs and rest, but a mere five minutes later she was in a deep, dreamless sleep, glass still held loosely in her hand and feet dangling over the bumper.

* * *

Hours later, the roaring of an engine dove beneath Rani's exhaustion and yanked her back to semi-consciousness. For a brief, confused moment she thought it was her Mustang making the noise, causing her to half scramble, half roll off the hood, landing non-too-gracefully on hands and knees. Only then did she remember the car didn't actually run.

"Ooow," she groaned, more from the stiffness in her joints than from the impact. It was only to be expected after sleeping on metal all night. The engine noise was coming from outside the garage door, close enough to be in the driveway. Conveniently already on the ground, Rani retrieved her wand from where it had rolled beneath a tire and stumbled to her feet. Curiosity overcoming any brief thoughts of safety she might've had, she flicked her wand at the garage door and waited, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, as it opened.

Sirius Black was in her driveway.

And he had a motorbike.

"Wha-?" she managed, blinking a few times in the glaring winter afternoon sun until her eyes adjusted. The sight didn't change—he was standing there next to a huge black motorbike, holding his helmet under one arm and keys in the other, regarding her with some confusion from under stray locks of perfectly messed hair.

"Shacklebolt, why do you appear to be sleeping in your garage? In last night's dress? Not that I don't approve of last night's dress…" he added, taking in her sloppy evening attire with obvious amusement. For a minute Rani could only mouth wordlessly at him.

"Um. Well. I mean, I didn't mean to—I just sort of forgot to move upstairs… Wait, what are you doing here? And why do you have a motorbike?" She cast the bike an appreciative look, despite her confusion.

"And a happy Christmas to you too," Sirius drawled. "I tried to Floo over, but you're not on the network, and since the Potters gifted me this rather spectacular machine for Christmas…" He shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought I'd come over and see how last night went—I'm worried about 'Dromeda. She hasn't sent a note or anything, and she didn't come back to the Potters' last night."

"Andy's at Ted Tonks' house," Rani explained, motioning for him to come into the garage. "It went about as well as we'd expected—which is horribly. I imagine she's got a nice little burn mark on the family tree, just like you." Sirius shook his head.

"She's better off, believe me."

"I know." She sighed. "Come on in then, if you want. I'm going to run upstairs and change." Sirius trailed her through the door and drifted into the kitchen as Rani sprinted up the stairs. She reached her bedroom a little out of breath and more than a little flustered. What was she supposed to make of this? It was obvious Andromeda's absence was a ruse to come over to the house—she knew for a fact that Andy was going to write Sirius to let him know where she was as soon as she arrived at Ted's, and Andy was generally responsible about that sort of thing. Her guess was that he wanted to talk about… _them_. Since Lily and James appeared to have gotten together at long last that left the obvious unspoken question "_what now_?" between her and Sirius.

"Oh boy," she muttered to herself as she finished brushing her teeth and wriggled into jeans and an old Kenmare Kestrels sweatshirt. After giving up on removing the eye makeup from the previous night and doing one last check of her ponytail in the mirror, Rani took a deep breath and dashed back out her bedroom door—and ran right into Black, who was lurking at the top of the stairs.

"Whoa, watch it, love," he said, looking surprised and catching her by the shoulders as she stumbled. Rani looked at him, wide-eyed, her heart pounding for a reason that didn't involve the shock of finding him upstairs. She made no effort to move away, and he didn't remove his hands from her shoulders as his startled expression faded. Rani made note of what a pretty color of blue-gray his eyes were. "I'm sorry, I just—I mean, I was looking around…there's something we—I mean, that I wanted to ask…" Rani stared at Sirius, not paying attention to the words his was saying. She was far more cognizant of two facts: first, that Sirius Black actually appeared to be at a loss for words; and second, that his hands were still on her shoulders and his face was a mere foot from her own.

"Sirius bloody Black, are you going to kiss me or not?" she demanded without thinking, and when his answer was a blink she leaned forward and did just that. It took him a second, and then Sirius let his hands trail down to her waist to pull her closer, raising goosebumps on Rani's arms. Her stomach was doing flips and she swore she was seeing fireworks—it was ridiculous and irrational, the way she reacted to this boy, but that's the way it was. Besides, he truly was an excellent kisser.

Rani closed what little distance there was left between them and wrapped her arms around Sirius' neck, taking a step backward into her bedroom without breaking the kiss. He followed her, and when her knees ran into the bed he went with her as she let them collapse and they fell backward onto the mattress. Briefly Sirius pulled away and looked at her with such a male expression in his eyes that her stomach clenched.

"Ra…" he muttered huskily, bending to kiss lightly along her jaw line to her ear. "Rani…" Rani tried to inhale fully, but his hot breath on her earlobe was messing with her body's ability to perform basic survival functions. He was close. Really close. Really warm. And he smelled amazing. "Ra, wait." Sirius pulled back, at which Rani let out a noise like a miffed cat that she immediately felt rather ashamed of.

"What is it?" she asked, trying not to demand, her own voice husky. His blue-gray eyes searched hers, still animalistic, but looking concerned.

"I want to do this right. This is how it's gone with every other girl, but you… I want to do this right with you, this whole… relationship thing. Because you're not every other girl. If that's what you want." He stared down at her in a sort of pushup position as Rani regarded him, letting his words fight through her hormones to her brain. That he looked like a lost puppy was the first thought she got out, closely followed by the significance of what he was saying. _Sirius Black just said 'relationship'._ Her eyes went wide.

"Sirius," she said gently, brushing a piece of hair out of his eyes. "You really want to do this right?" He nodded. Rani contemplated the boy on top of her for awhile. _Make good decisions, Rani,_ a little voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like her brother said, despite the fact that every nerve was tingling and her thinking was fuzzy and fully fixated in one direciton. She wrinkled her nose a little bit. _Killjoy_,Rani thought back at the voice, then heaved a little sigh and fixed Sirius with an earnest stare.

"You could help me make Christmas dinner. And then take me on a ride on that motorbike." Sirius leaned back and sat on the edge of the bed, very obviously wanting to go back to snogging but making a clear effort to process what she said. He nodded slowly.

"Alright," he agreed with the lopsided smile that made her heart skip. "I think I could manage that." They looked at each other for awhile longer, the thing they both wanted written all over their faces, before Rani heaved another sigh and crawled off the bed.

"Come on then. Let's see what there is to eat around here." She took his hand and tugged him to a standing position, leading him downstairs to the kitchen.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"What a bloody mess," Sirius observed, eyeing the piles of dishes lined up by the sink and the stove, still sodden from its dowsing with a fire extinguishing spell.

"Worth it though," Rani said with a contented sigh, retreating from the kitchen to flop on the living room couch in front of the fireplace. "I'd say we managed to salvage a decent number of grilled cheeses."

"Yeah, well, I suppose three and a half out of six attempted sandwiches isn't bad." Sirius followed her into the living room, stumbling a little but managing to avoid spilling the wine he carried. "I must say, I never thought I'd see the day when grilled cheese with wine and a jar of marshmallow fluff for dessert became my Christmas dinner." Rani snorted.

"I, however, am only shocked this is the first time I've had to resort to it, given the deplorable state of my parents' culinary skills."

"They're not around much to exercise them though, are they?" Sirius inquired, sitting on the couch by her legs. Rani shook her head.

"No. And believe me, there are times when I'm thankful for that." Her brow furrowed, and she took another thoughtful spoonful of marshmallow before adding: "Other times, not so much." Sirius regarded the fire in the grate during the silence that followed this pronouncement. He was dying to tell her that he knew about her parents' circumstances, knew she'd been dumped into the position of guarding Kingsley, and knew that she would rise to the challenge with her usual forceful grace. However, to admit this would be to admit he'd been eavesdropping in the garden, which would lead to a whole topic of conversation involving his status as an Animagus that he just didn't want to go into right now. So he changed the subject.

"Pity we didn't think to save the wine for later. We could've gone for that ride before it's completely dark."

"Mm." Rani made a low, noncommittal noise in her throat, regarding him through half-lowered lids as she reclined. Sirius was struck by how similar her position was to that day on the train when he'd first—well, not noticed her, but… _noticed_ her. His mouth quirked upward automatically as he contemplated how funny life was. How blind he'd been.

"Sirius," Rani said, setting aside the jar of marshmallow fluff and propping herself up on one elbow. She was suddenly business-like, regarding him with intently focused eyes through the haze of wine. "I was wondering."

"Yes?" He felt a little stir of trepidation at her seriousness that was quickly extinguished as she continued:

"Have you paid out to your mates yet, or will you have to save up first?" She grinned widely as he gave her a shrewd look.

"Now what makes you think _I_ have to pay out to anybody? Lily and James are together, after all. And nobody knows we were a little premature with the whole kissing business…" He shot her a look that he'd used on many girls, smoldering and playful, fully expecting the usual eyelash-fluttering results. Rani's face did color a bit as her mouth quirked upward at the corners, but she hid her smile in her wineglass with a look far too knowing in her eyes.

"Oh, now that's not exactly true." Sirius felt himself blanch.

"What?" She didn't hide her grin now.

"Now Black, Remus and I are quite good friends at this point—he's an excellent Transfiguration tutor—I couldn't hold such key events in my life back from him, could I? It wouldn't be fair to our friendship, after he was so kind as to inform me of your little wager…" She tried and failed miserably at looking contrite, staring at him with wide puppy-dog eyes and a mouth that kept twitching as she held back laughter. Sirius felt a weight drop into his stomach.

"You _didn't_," he exclaimed, horrified.

"Oh, but I did," she retorted wickedly. "I _told_ you I was going to get you back for all those little 'I love him, no wait I hate him' sessions with Lily I had to endure, with her going on and on and _on_ about your darling best mate. And now I have. So you're forty gallons down the pot, while _I_"—she paused to scoop out another dollop of marshmallow, surveying him with absolute glee over the spoon—"have the satisfaction of successful sabotage." Sirius mouthed wordlessly for a bit, debating whether he should be annoyed with her or not.

"You've made me bankrupt," he accused, narrowing his eyes. Rani gave a snort.

"I think you'll manage the everyday necessities of life, judging by that sexy new motorbike gleaming in the side yard." She poked him hard in the shoulder to emphasize her argument, but Sirius caught her wrist and leaned over her as she reclined on the pillows.

"I think I ought to be miffed at you," he growled, remembering their similar conversation by the Gryffindor common room, the one that had started it all.

"I think you like me too much," Rani declared, as she had then, gesturing with the spoon in her free hand until Sirius caught that wrist too and held her arms up. He raised an eyebrow playfully, trying to look calm. In all honesty he could feel his pulse rising, and it had nothing to do with anger.

"Oh yes? _I_ think I should tie your hands together and hit you with a tickling charm." Rani's big dark eyes widened as she studied him.

"You wouldn't."

"I would." He reached towards his back pocket for his wand.

"No!" Rani shrieked, starting to wriggle. "Black, don't you dare!" Sirius grinned wickedly, brandishing his wand while he struggled to keep her wrists together with one hand.

"_Rictusem_—" Rani gave another shriek and heaved him off her, rolling off the couch and crawling around it for cover.

"No fair! I'm not armed!" she cried. Sirius chuckled and stood lazily, twirling his wand in one hand.

"But you are, baby, 'cause that body's a killer," he teased as he sauntered around the edge of the couch—and walked right into the three pillows she fired at his face in quick succession. Rani cackled and scrambled up, making a dash for the kitchen.

"And wouldn't you just like to be its next target?" she called as she went, making a beeline for the stove where, Sirius knew, she'd left her wand. Grinning, Sirius made as though to follow her but was stopped by a loud knock on the door just as he was nearing it.

"I'll get it," he volunteered, still smiling as he stepped towards the foyer.

"Sirius, no, wait! If you unlock the door voluntarily it'll shut off the—" by the time Rani said 'wards' with panic in her voice, Sirius had withdrawn the deadbolt. He froze, too late, and stared at Rani as she leaned out of the kitchen, all the color draining out of her face as a muted _pop_ resounded through the house, signaling the wards terminating. She looked absolutely horrified.

"Ra?" he started to ask, confused, but she held a finger to her lips and eased toward the door to put an eye up to the keyhole gingerly. Sirius stepped back to let her pass.

"It's Regulus," she told him, puzzled but making a move towards the doorknob nonetheless. "I wonder what he's doing here; he knows Kings is at scho—"

And that was the point the door imploded.

Sirius yelled as he was thrown backward into the living room. From what he could tell through the sudden smoke Rani was a little quicker on her feet and managed to scramble backward towards the stairs, grabbing her wand from the floor as she went.

"Oh I do _love_ when they make things easy for us." An oily, gloating male voice drifted out of the wreckage of the door, emanating from one of two hooded figures that stepped across the threshold, flanking… his little brother. Sirius could hear the blood pounding in his ears, keeping time with his heart as it began thundering in his chest at the sight.

"_You_," he managed to croak in a strangled voice. It was the closest thing to a sentence he could manage as Sirius stared at his own kin. Regulus' spiky black hair was coated with a thin layer of dust from the wreckage of the door, and his mouth was set in a grim line.

"Oh _look_, a little boy toy to play with too," the second hooded figure, a woman, cooed. Sirius shot the fiercest look he could muster at her, but remained focused on his brother.

"What are you doing, Regulus?" he asked in the most level voice he could maintain, watching as the three advanced into the room. Despite his efforts, his tone wavered. Regulus stared him down coldly, with no hint of emotion on his face.

"We've come to play," the man answered for him, brandishing a wand. "Who's first?" Sirius lunged towards the leg of the chair he'd been edging towards, managing to brush his wand with his fingertips before the man sent a scorching spell within a millimeter of his hands.

"Wait," Regulus rasped, speaking for the first time. Sirius glanced up from making sure his hand was still intact, holding out a faint hope that his brother was just joking, that this was all just a horrible, horrible prank. He was wrong.

"He's a Pureblood. And knows nothing," Regulus declared, glancing at the two adults. Sirius got the impression they were actually _listening_ to him. Taking orders from his brother? "Leave him. Get the girl."

With obvious delight, the henchmen turned at this and focused their attention on Rani, who had just managed to reach the top of the stairs. With an almost casual flick of the man's wand, Rani's legs were knocked out from under her and she tumbled halfway down the steps, her wand clattering down ahead. Fury rose to overtake his shock, and Sirius made another dive for his wand, this time managing to grab it and whirl almost around before the woman hit him with Petrificus Totalus. Despite his instincts screaming at him to act, Sirius could do nothing but lay half-propped on the floor and watch.

Rani was sprawled near the bottom of the stairs, trying to untangle her long legs enough to run, panic written all over her face. She froze as Regulus approached her, all three intruders leveling their wands at her chest.

"R-Regulus," she said, making an obvious effort to speak evenly, as Sirius had.

"Hello Ra," Regulus answered, a smile that sent chills down Sirius' spine spreading thinly over his face. "Have a good Christmas?"  
"Not exactly." Rani shifted her legs slowly into a more comfortable position, wincing at her newly acquired bruises, never taking her eyes off her attackers.

"I do apologize for the tumble," Regulus said courteously. "We couldn't have you running off though, now could we? We'd spend all night looking for you _and_ your parents. And that's really just too much hide and seek for us." Rani's eyes widened, and if there was any color left in her face it would have drained. Sirius shared in her moment of realization—they were after her parents. Meaning they were the 'Dark Lord's' supporters. _His brother_ was a… a Death Eater.

"I don't know where my parents are," Rani said, enunciating clearly and putting some force behind her voice. Her eyes darted towards Sirius, then towards her wand, looking for a way out. Regulus also followed the track of her gaze, and his smile widened.

"Now Rani, don't be silly. If you make this too difficult we'll just have to go repeat our questions to your brother." Rani's eyes snapped back to Regulus' black stare and she snarled.

"Don't you dare mess with him, you conniving treacherous little piece of—" she began, surging to her feet, but Regulus' female companion sent a bolt of light into her chest with enough force to fling her up several steps and flat on her back again with a resounding thud. Regulus advanced calmly up the stairs to stare down at her once more.

Sirius was frantic. It felt as though every organ in his body was compensating for his frozen muscles by banging around in his chest cavity, desperate for action. He could hear Rani wheezing even from his position ten feet away; it sounded as though one of her lungs was damaged, and he caught the look of pain that crossed her face as she turned her head, determined that the Death Eaters not see. Her hand crept around to cradle her ribs. _Find a way out_, his brain was screaming. _Find a way out! _The wards were down, so he could Apparate once he could formulate a spell. But where to? His motorbike was around the side of the house, and his muscles… were still frozen.

Sirius let out a stream of internal profanity, but had no tongue to voice it with.

"Now," Regulus continued softly. "Your parents, Shacklebolt. Or it'll be your brother, and we'll have no trouble finding him."

"I told you," Rani rasped, glowering venomously upward. "I. Don't. Know. They're not stupid enough to leave a forwarding address for when some power-crazed Dark despot comes to call."

"But they were stupid enough to leave their daughter behind unprotected! Did they really think we were through with the Aurors after that measly scuffle the other night? Ha!" the woman cackled. "We're just getting started." Rani curled her lip.

"When the Auror office catches up with your ragtag band of weak, simpering Dark minions, I hope they run into _you_ first," she spat. The woman moved with a swiftness she hadn't yet exhibited, swooping in to nearly touch noses with Rani.

"So do I, my pet," she breathed from beneath her black hood. "So do I." She stepped backward to her place behind his brother. "Regulus," she said imperiously, "She's too mouthy. I don't see how she can properly concentrate on giving directions to her parents' whereabouts when she's this busy formulating witty comebacks. Let's focus her mind, can't we?"

"She's no use to us unable to move or speak," Regulus snapped, looking, for the first time, a shade flustered.

"She'll be able to speak," the man piped up, "just not with so sharp a tongue. Perhaps a looser one, though." He didn't think it was possible, but Sirius could feel his panic escalating even more. They were leading up to something. Rani knew it too; the fear was plain in her face now.

"Do it, Regulus!" the woman shrieked. "As the Dark Lord would do, in his wisdom!" For the first time Regulus cast an inscrutable look down at his elder brother, then towards his two companions. Plainly steeling himself, he took a deep breath and, as Rani panicked and tried to bolt, yelled:

"CRUCIO!"

Right as Sirius got his pinky finger to wriggle.

Rani's scream filled the house as her back arched, her spine contorting in ways it was never meant to and her limbs tensing such a degree that she looked maimed. Sirius could feel the screaming drill into his head like something tangible, and for a minute he quit trying to make the Petrificus Totalus thaw faster as he felt himself stop breathing, entranced and mortified by Rani's pain.

Then he redoubled his efforts.

_Hurry, hurry, hurry_, he repeated in his head, trying to think through Rani's yells. He could make two fingers wiggle now.

"Now!" the male intruder said, as Regulus finally lifted his wand and Rani fell limp. "Let's try it again. WHERE are your parents?" For a few moments Rani's ragged breathing was the only thing audible as she tried to gather herself together enough to speak.

"I told you," she repeated weakly, a tiny whimper in her voice now, "I don't know. I don't. Kings doesn't. They didn't say." Regulus raised an eyebrow.

"Pity, Ra. I would've thought you'd be more helpful than this."

"No, wait, please!"

And the screaming started again.

_Get your hand to move. Get your wrist to move. Apparate to Rani, then Apparate to… to…_ To where? He couldn't get to the infirmary at Hogwarts by Apparition. He'd never had the misfortune of going to St. Mungoe's and so had no idea how to direct himself there. He didn't know where Dumbledore was. _Think, dammit! And MOVE!_ His thumb wriggled. He needed a safe house. A safe house…

Finally, finally, he got his wrist to twitch.

Sirius wasted no time. Apparating with more speed than he'd ever done before, he vanished from the living room with a pop, reappeared on the stairs by Rani's side, gathered her up even as her screaming was still subsiding, and vanished once again in the furious face of his own brother, thinking _THE SHRIEKING SHACK_ with all his might.

* * *

The first sickening thought Sirius managed once his brains stopped spinning from such rapid Apparition was "_Please don't be dead."_ Adrenaline shot into his system as this mortifying possibility occurred to him; his stomach clenched and he bolted upright in a panic, looking around in the disorder and dust of the Shack's familiar living room for Rani.

She lay a few feet from him, one arm twisted behind her back and her other limbs splayed in a morbid caricature of a rag doll. Blood was seeping through her sweatshirt. Sirius' nausea ratcheted up a notch at the sight.

"Oh god, Ra," he breathed, scrambling over to her. "Please don't be dead. Oh god, oh god… Please don't be dead." He knelt by her side and gently brushed ropes of hair from her face, then laid a couple fingers on her throat. "Don't be dead. Don't be dead." Although her rich copper skin was the color of weak chocolate milk and her breathing was quick, shallow, and pained, Sirius was relieved to find a pulse. A barely-existent pulse even more rapid than her breathing, that would disappear all too soon if he didn't find some help.

Afraid though he was to move her for fear of further damaging any broken bones or injured lungs, Sirius slowly maneuvered Rani's arm out from under her and gently placed one of the musty pillows from the torn couch under her head. Despite being mercifully unconscious, her forehead was creased and her lips grimaced slightly in echo of the pain she had felt. And in anticipation of the pain she was going to feel as soon as she woke up.

Sirius' brain was quickly escalating to the same jittery frenzy he had felt when frozen by the Petrificus charm—he had to find help. Fast. _Tunnel back to Hogwarts isn't too long, but searching the castle takes too much time. _He got to his feet, snatching his wand from the floor. _Dumbledore would be best, but god knows if he's on the grounds for the holiday._ He started towards the door, picking up speed as he went after casting a worried look back at Rani, prostrate on the floor. _ It'll have to be the town. On four legs for speed._

Sirius was a dog before he got halfway down the hill the Shrieking Shack perched on, making a beeline for the town nestled below. He wasn't sure who to turn to, but figured that the main street, with its multiple pubs, would be most likely to have people at this hour on Christmas. Unfortunately, Sirius was so busy sweeping his nose side to side on the lookout for humans, he forgot to keep an eye on inanimate obstacles and plowed straight into a cluster of dustbins set out in the street for collection. The clatter was deafening, and Sirius went tumbling snout over tail, completely discombobulated once again.

He struggled to his paws, frustration flaring at this new delay to getting Rani out of harm's way. _Damn dustbins_! Sirius thought furiously, catching the lid to one in his mouth and flinging it viciously against the nearest building. _Damn people, hiding inside by their fires and their damn presents! Damn Dumbledore, wherever the fuck he is!_ He flung a few more lids, relishing the clamor they made banging against the cement. _Damn my fucking brother, and god damn fucking Death Eaters!_ He let out a snarl when he ran out of dustpan lids, then followed it with a long whine as the anger died quickly as it had flared. He set to pacing circles on the cobblestones, fighting an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

"If you're a dog," a voice suddenly said, mere feet from him. "Then I'm Merlin's deaf uncle." Sirius whipped around. An old wizard was surveying him from the curb with a shrewd eye, his silvery hair and blue eyes somehow very familiar. "And seeing as how I can hear very clearly the racket you're making, I'm certainly not deaf. Likewise, I don't believe Merlin is in the family tree, so"—he fixed Sirius with a steely gaze, suddenly stern—"_what_ are you doing flinging around my dustbins, instead of drinking in my pub like a good human?"

Sirius stared at him, barely processing what he was saying. He didn't care who this man was or where he'd come from—all that mattered is that he could _help._


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Pain woke her.

Rani winced as every nerve flared into consciousness with a vengeance. It was a thousand tiny needles in her skin, acid whirling through her veins, agony only slightly below what she could endure without passing out again. She began to inhale sharply—whether to sob or scream, she didn't know—but was impeded by a dagger in her ribs. Rani gasped brokenly and tried desperately to breathe. Make that several daggers.

She opened her eyes slowly, afraid of what she might see and unsure of how she might've gotten here, wherever 'here' was. There was a lingering feeling of fear and panic nagging at the base of her brain, but the pain was blocking her from remembering the cause of it. The important realities now were her stinging nerve endings, throbbing arm and shoulder, and inability to breathe. This last fact was exceptionally worrisome.

Adrenaline started to perk up her senses, and Rani looked around as much as possible without moving her neck, hoping for some clue as to her location. There was something soft beneath her head, but she was on the ground. Above were dark rafters draped with cobwebs and around her no sound but the creaking of an old wood structure. She was alone then. Alone, and suffocating.

Definite panic now.

Rani was just starting to hyperventilate as much as her deflated lungs would allow, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, when she heard a noise coming from her right: footsteps, then a voice.

"My, you _are_ banged up." She made a small effort to move her head, just enough to catch a glimpse of whoever was speaking. A tall, thin wizard with silver hair and a grizzled face floated into view, staring down at Rani with calm concern. "Apparition didn't help much either, I'm willing to bet." She blinked at him, about the only movement that didn't hurt. "Don't worry," the wizard continued, kneeling nearby. His fingers set about examining her arm, lightly enough that she barely winced. "Your little boyfriend scurried on up to the castle to find Minerva and that new nurse of hers, Madam Humphrey, or whatever. He'll be back soon." Rani's brain felt as though it was moving through molasses as she tried to make sense of what the wizard was saying. Apparition? Boyfriend? Sirius! Wherever she'd been, she'd been with him. _What the bloody hell happened and why the bloody hell isn't he here?_

"Well, I don't have Healer's training, but I'd have to say this is broken," the strange wizard continued, ceasing his assessment of her arm. "Couple ribs too, and at least one of them through at least one lung, by the look of it. And a fever I'm willing to bet is because of shock." He nodded towards her chest, the source of the dagger-like pain, where Rani could feel a warm liquid she knew to be blood dripping down her stomach. The cogs in her head were slowly creaking into action, brow wrinkling with the effort. Sirius… Sirius had been with her… they'd been… something to do with marshmallows… and then the door, and dark figures… and Regulus…

Rani gave another broken gasp and started sobbing as the blind panic, fear, and anger of the entire night hit her like a Hippogriff. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't even think straight—and god knew who this man even was, and whether or not _he_ was going to demand she produce her parents as well. The wizard kneeling next to her furrowed his brow in sympathy, withdrawing a wand from the folds of his robes.

"I'm sorry, girl. Look"—he brandished his wand—"I'll make it all go away for now, alright? Get you up to the castle, nice and easy. Ready?" But Rani's attention was focused inward, away from even the physical pain, gingerly examining the flood of memories making her cry. The flashes of light, the crippling curses… She wasn't even paying attention when the wizard leveled his wand at her and muttered:

"Stupefy!"

* * *

She registered the sheets first, without even opening her eyes. Lovely, soft, clean sheets on top of a lovely, soft, clean mattress piled with lovely, soft, clean pillows. No smell of musty upholstery. No cobwebs in her nose. And even better, no biting pain. Experimentally, she tried to inhale, and found with great relief that although her lungs, ribs, and general anatomy ached right through to the skeleton, she could breathe fully. She inhaled a few more times, just for the joy of it, until she felt a bit lightheaded and was forced to take a break.

"Ra?" She blinked at the sound of a voice, gradually opening her eyes. She registered briefly that she was in the familiar Hospital Wing of Hogwarts, wondered how she'd gotten there, and then noticed Kingsley. Her brother was sitting in a chair very near the bed, examining her anxiously through his glasses. The creases in his forehead smoothed a little when he saw she was awake. "Ra! Oh, thank god!" He leapt up and made as though to throw his arms around her, but reigned himself in as Rani made a muffled noise of protest.

"The ribs, Kings!"

"Sorry," he said, quickly withdrawing but beaming all the same. But his smile faded before Rani could work up the will to beam back. "You could've been killed, Ra." Rani grimaced.

"They told you what happened." A statement, more than a question.

"Yes they told me! Why would they dare _not_ tell me?" Kingsley began pacing as he fumed, clearly working up steam. "Bloody hell, Ra, how could you be so selfish? They're not just _your_ parents, it's not just _your_ house, and you're not the only child!I told you, didn't I, I told—"

"One '_I told you so_' out of you, Kings, and I will jinx you from here to the forests of Romania without a second thought!" Rani snapped, struggling to prop herself up on her elbows and glare at him. Kingsley glared right back, but had to pause to blink furiously. Rani realized he was trying not to cry. She softened her expression sheepishly, glancing down and holding out an arm to hug her little brother.

"I'm sorry, Kings," she apologized, as he leaned over her in a very awkward embrace, avoiding her ribs. "I didn't mean to scare you—I really didn't think there was any danger. I didn't think… they're a lot more vicious than the Ministry is making them out to be." Kingsley muffled a sniff in reply as he untangled himself and stepped back.

"S'ok," he said gruffly. "Just glad you're… well, that you're not dead."

"That makes two of us," Rani agreed.

"Three of us, actually, Miss Shacklebolt, at the very least," said a voice from the entrance to the Hospital Wing. Rani and her brother both turned their attention towards Dumbledore as he strode down the rows of beds. Rani hurriedly tried to sit up. "No, no, Miss Shacklebolt, don't stress yourself please, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." Obligingly, Rani settled for merely fluffing the pillows behind her head so she could observe the Headmaster better.

"Morning, Professor," Kingsley said, meeting Dumbledore's eyes with an obstinate expression. He made no offer to leave her side. Rani suppressed a smile.

"Good morning, Mister Shacklebolt. If you please, I'd like a word with the pair of you. Sit, sit." Kingsley obeyed, and Dumbledore stood surveying the two of them. "Rani," he began seriously. "Are you aware of all that has happened? Of how you came to be here?"

"Um… Mostly, sir. There are bits and pieces missing, but I remember the—the main events." Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"You've sustained some serious injuries, Rani. A dislocated shoulder and broken wrist that Madam Pomfrey was able to heal within a couple of hours, and five shattered ribs that took considerably more time. She managed to save your lungs as well, with some work." Rani winced and rubbed the previously mentioned damaged body parts absentmindedly.

"How long have I been out?"

"Four days. You stirred a few times, but Madam Pomfrey felt it would be most comfortable for you to remain unconscious. Rani," Dumbledore said, becoming even more serious, "Do you understand who did this to you?" Haltingly, Rani nodded, glancing sideways at her brother. He looked oblivious at first, then seemed to catch on to their significant expressions.

"What does she need to understand? It was the so-called 'Death Eaters'. They wanted our parents. Because they're Aurors." Dumbledore opened his mouth to explain, but Rani cut him off with a curt shake of her head. She wanted this to come from her. Kingsley looked at her worriedly.

"Kings," she began, looking steadily into his eyes with one hand on his arm. "It's Regulus."

"Regulus what?" he asked, not understanding.

"Regulus, a Death Eater." The words tasted foul and strange in her mouth. Rani had never really liked Regulus, but he'd been around for years, coming over to their house for days on end during the summer months, accompanying her little brother in various antics since they met first year. Yes, he was a Slytherin. But she'd never thought him capable of _this_. And if it hurt her, she couldn't imagine what it would do to Kings.

"A _what_?" he repeated sharply, jerking away from her. "He's a Slytherin, Rani, not a bloody—"

"He did it, Kings," she repeated, raising her voice forcefully. "He's the reason I let them in. I saw him through the… through the keyhole, and I opened the door." She tactfully omitted the fact that it had been Sirius who'd disarmed the wards, and that the door had technically been obliterated before she could open it.

Kingsley was staring at her, a dawning look of comprehension spreading over his face. It quickly turned into horror, and then the pain of betrayal.

"Kings—" she began, but her brother turned on his heel and strode out of the Hospital Wing without a word. Rani heaved a sigh, wishing there was something that she could do to ease his pain. She knew nothing she could say would help, though. Dumbledore put a wrinkled hand gently on her knee.

"I am sorry," he said sincerely. "For both of you. Neither one of you should have to endure these kind of things, especially so young—it isn't fair to you." Rani didn't really know how to respond to this apology, beyond the rather rude '_no shit, ya think?'_, so she opted for silence. Dumbledore clearly had something more to say. "These people," he continued. "These Death Eaters, they are capable of much more cruelty than what they have already shown. The media and the Ministry are downplaying it, hoping to keep people calm so they may handle the crisis, but in doing so they are damaging whatever hope there is of fighting this man, Voldemort, and his organization. I have been trying for months to convince the Ministry that they need to educate and inform, rather than obscure the facts, but they have been slow to take my advice. And so I need you to do something for me, Miss Shacklebolt, just as I will ask the other children of those Aurors who were attacked." Rani waited, fidgeting with the sheet, waiting for the ball to drop.

"I need you to tell people what happened." She blinked at him.

"You want me to _tell_ people?" He nodded.

"Yes. Not advertise the fact, of course, but do not be stingy with your story. Young though you all are, every student at this school has the right to know what is facing them in the real world. They need to know how dangerous this threat is." Rani stared at Dumbledore, thinking over his words. The more she thought, the more they seemed wrong, somehow. She had always liked Dumbledore, and had never seen any reason to distrust him. And yet…

"Professor," she said slowly, rolling the words around in her mouth before discharging them, "You agreed my parents were right, that home would be safe. That they would have no reason to go after me, knowing that my parents had gone. Yet you're telling me now that these people have always been a danger the entire world should be wary of." She tried to keep her voice neutral and non-accusing, but it was difficult. Dumbledore chose to respond to only part of her statement, never batting an eye at her logic.

"People need to be informed, Miss Shacklebolt." Rani felt a rising suspicion, one that made her too sick to her stomach to even contemplate fully. Nauseous, she leaned back on her pillows, keeping her face studiously blank.

"I won't keep it a secret. I doubt I could if I tried. If you'll excuse me, Professor, I'm quite tired."

"Of course, Miss Shacklebolt. Please, do not hesitate to come to me if you need anything beyond what Madam Pomfrey can give you." Rani didn't answer as she turned laboriously to rest on her side. Her back was to the Headmaster before he had left her bedside.

* * *

Rani waited a full two days for Sirius to show up. When he didn't, her impatience combined with a raging case of cabin fever was enough to finally convince Madam Pomfrey to discharge her from the Hospital Wing. Rani had a hunch the nurse got tired of her limping up and down the ward, holding onto the bedposts for support. After repeated passes past her office, it got to the point that Pomfrey simply gave up. So, after many admonishments and instructions on remedies for potential muscle pain, Rani was free to make a beeline for the Gryffindor common room.

She ran into a dead end with the Fat Lady.

"Um…" Rani said, staring at the portrait. The woman smirked a bit.

"Password, dear?"

"Uh. Chocolate rum balls?" Rani tried, noticing an empty box of them in the background of the painting. There had to be some logic behind her being the _Fat_ Lady, right?

"No," the woman said primly. Rani sighed and shifted her weight impatiently to one hip, wincing as she jostled her lower ribs.

"Look, I just need to check if somebody's in there, alright? Please?"

"I don't think so, dear. It's against the rules." The portrait was definitely smug now—she didn't seem to appreciate Rani's attitude. Rani didn't much appreciate hers either. It had been days since she'd seen Sirius, and there were some rather big recent developments she was itching to discuss with him.

"Fine," she snarled. "Dimple-Developing Doughnut Delights! Everlasting Triple Fudge Ice Cream Float! Drooble's Best Bubblegum Pasties! Cockroach bloody Clusters—oh come _on_, I really need to see him! You could even just send him out!" The Fat Lady shook her head at every suggestion, growing increasingly red in the face after each implication of Rani's high-calorie password attempts.

"Absolutely not. I believe you've run out of tries. Good day."

"Hey! That's not allowed! There's no limit on guesses!" Rani yelled after the portrait as she sauntered sideways and disappeared into the frame. "Bullocks," she muttered, turning to slump against the wall the portrait hung on. That was about the time she noticed him standing in the corridor not five feet behind.

"Oh," she managed to say, before Sirius took two steps forward and flung his arms around her. It would've been quite a nice greeting, if she hadn't still been healing. As it was, she let out a muffled yelp into his chest and smacked him on the shoulder. He loosened his grip and hurriedly stepped away, allowing her to cross her arms protectively across her ribs and take a few steadying breaths.

"Sorry," he apologized hastily, putting his hands on her shoulders, on her face, anywhere he could touch her that wouldn't hurt too much. "I'm just…"

"Glad I'm not dead. I know," Rani finished for him, not entirely joking. Sirius' relief at the fact that she was walking and talking was obvious in his reluctance to put her out of arms reach, seeming not to know where to rest his hands for more than a few seconds, as though making sure she wouldn't dissipate at the slightest touch. Rani smiled, but a short, awkward silence fell. Neither of them seemed to know what to say.

"I'm sorry," Sirius began abruptly, suddenly unable to meet her eyes and letting his hands drop to his sides.

"Sorry?" Rani echoed, genuinely perplexed. "Why?"

"I disarmed the house. I let them in; if I hadn't—"

"If you hadn't, I would've let them in anyway, because I thought I knew the person on the other side of the door," she interrupted, cutting off his guilt trip.

"_And_ he's my… my brother. I'm sorry for that too." Sirius looked down, a pained expression flickering briefly over his face.

"Yes, well… so am I," Rani said softly. Another short silence. Finally, Rani unfolded her arms and slid her hands into Sirius', linking their fingers. The action seemed to convince him to tilt his head up and meet her gaze. He looked miserable. "Sirius," Rani began, filling each word with all the earnestness she could manage; not something she did often. "You saved my life. I couldn't say how I got from the house to Hogwarts, but I know it had everything to do with you. And you even stayed here instead of going back to Potter's." She leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips, lingering there as she added, "Thank you, love. You were amazing, I'm sure. Even if I can't remember it."

Sirius paused, absorbing what she'd said, then wordlessly moved in to continue the kiss, brushing her lips far more gently than he had the few times before. It was a quiet, smoldering sort of passion, instead of burning. Just as gently, he walked Rani backward and pushed her up against the wall, enveloping her in his woody, summer-afternoon-with-a-spritz-of-cologne scent. Despite the aches still lingering in her bones, she felt the predictable tingle run down her spine.

"Ra," Sirius said, leaning back enough to look her in the eyes. "It occurred to me at some point while you were lying comatose in the nearby vicinity that we haven't been on an actual date."

"Mm. Why bother? Who needs all the formalities," Rani mumbled, trying to lean in and get back to snogging. But Sirius wouldn't allow it.

"I know," he conceded, tilting his head just far enough that she couldn't reach his lips. "But I told you, I want to do this right." Rani feigned pouting. She had to appreciate his efforts—it was downright cute. She gave herself a quick mental shake. _I am not a simpering teenage girl. I am not a simpering teenage girl. Yes, he's sweet and funny and brave and obviously likes me and is attractive as hell. But I am recovering from a major attack and need to keep my emotions in check. I am not a simpering teenage girl…_

"Fine then. What do you suggest?" Sirius broke into one of his broad, lopsided grins that switched the logical voice in Rani's head right off as though a plug had been pulled.

"New Year's Eve in Hogsmeade? Most of the castle isn't back until New Year's Day. We can do dinner and a pub." Rani cocked her head to one side, considering it.

"I think that'll be acceptable," she said, musingly. "Now." She raised an eyebrow flirtatiously and put her hands on the back of his neck, pulling him nearer. "Can we please get back to snogging?"

"Not in my corridor, you don't!" a shrill voice said. Rani could feel Sirius break into a grin right in the middle of their kiss.

"I think you managed to piss the guardian of Gryffindor Tower off to a rather large degree," he whispered in her ear, chuckling. Rani heaved a huge sigh.

"Yes, well, I was a bit harsh on her." She reluctantly stopped leaning against the wall and took her weight on her own feet again. "Come on then. If I can't have snogging, I can at least have man's second most primal necessity."

"Oh? What's that?" Sirius asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he trailed her down the corridor with his hand in hers.

"Food. The Great Hall should be open for lunch right about now." He chuckled at that, as the sound of the Fat Lady's disapproving sniff echoed down the corridor after them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"…Told Lily not to worry about it. 'Course, she doesn't know the whole story, or at least not from me. She was all ready to go storming back to Hogwarts when she got the note from Dumbledore; I managed to talk her out of it, but still… it'll be a scene when term starts again." Sirius sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily.

"I'm sure it will be. Not just because of Lily, either. Look, Prongs, I've got to go, I'm sure Ra is waiting for me. I'm late even by her relaxed standards." The head of his best friend nodded in the fire.

"Yeah, I should probably make sure everything's set for Evans, too. Have a happy New Year's Eve, mate. My mum and dad give their best, and I'll see you in a few days, yeah?"

"Yeah. Happy New Years to you too Prongs. G'night." Sirius heard a slight pop behind him as he turned away from the fire to face the Common Room, glancing around for the jacket he could've sworn he'd brought down from the dormitories. He had a date to get to.

"Oh come on, I even persuaded one of the portraits from the kitchen to pop over to the sweet shop in Hogsmeade to get you some of the chocolates off the labels. That has to count for something, right?" Rani paused in her apparent supplication to the Fat Lady as Sirius swung the portrait open to clamor out into the hallway of Gryffindor Tower.

"I thought we were meeting in the Hall?" he said, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"I figured I'd better make some sort of amends to the Fat Lady, so I came up to meet you," she said by way of explanation, jerking her head towards the painting, from which was emanating a muffled reprieve—or perhaps noises of contentment with the gift, it was difficult to tell. "Besides," she added in an undertone, "You never know when you—we—might want that one on our good side. Easy access, and all that." She grinned lopsidedly at him, and Sirius grinned back suggestively.

"Well then. On that note, shall we?" He held out his elbow to her in a grandiose gesture. Rani looked him up and down, sneered at the offered elbow, grabbed his hand instead and, sliding her fingers between his, started off towards the stairs.

"We shall," she agreed, casting him a sideways smile.

* * *

They lasted through one round of butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks before the sheer noise of the place drove Sirius and Rani out.

"Shall we try Madam Puddifoot's?" Sirius suggested halfheartedly. The evening hadn't exactly been filled with sparkling conversation—certainly nothing compared to the long discussions they'd shared when he was coaching Rani for her Keeper position. It was partly the fault of the noisy atmosphere, and partly because they had both become gradually stiffer the closer they'd gotten to Hogsmeade and an 'official' date setting. Now they were standing on the street, their hands relaxed in each other's grip but with ramrod straight backs and a wand's length of space separating them.

Sirius looked around at the lack of response from Rani and found her staring back at him with a look somewhere between horror and disgust on her face. "What? What is it?" he demanded, glancing over his shoulder to see what could possibly be eliciting her reaction.

"Madam _Puddifoot's_? Dear Merlin, and I thought you were one of the properly disreputable ones. Sirius Black, suggesting Puddifoots"—she snorted and shook her head—"I ought to tell James on you."

"Well, sorr-y," he huffed, "It's the place that all the—" He cut himself off and fell silent.

"All the other girls you've seduced want to go?" Rani finished for him, looking shrewd and tossing her mane of dreadlocks over one shoulder. "C'mon, Black, do I really seem like the tea shop type? I appreciate the gesture," she gave his hand a squeeze, "But let's head to the Hog's Head, shall we? I bet we can weasel a Firewhiskey out of the bartender." Sirius nodded and set off down the street in step with Rani, his initial confusion at her reaction changing swiftly to an appreciation of his luck.

The Hog's Head was sparsely populated in comparison to Madam Rosmerta's place, but still fuller than Sirius had ever seen it. There was the usual dodgy clientele, but it was mixed with a few recognizable faces and a fair number of Hogwarts hats and scarves. He was grateful to find a fire in the usually empty grate as he slid onto a stool at the bar, pulling out one next to it for Rani. The bartender seemed to be occupied at the other end, so the two of them settled in to wait.

"Word's getting out," Rani said in a low voice, bending her mouth near his ear. Sirius shot her a quizzical look. "About the Aurors. And—and Regulus… and me." She jerked her head towards a table of Ravenclaws behind and a little to the left of them. Sirius glanced over his shoulder as subtly as he could; the entire table was staring intermittently at the pair of them, looking away as soon as they were caught. Sirius turned back around and rubbed his eyes tiredly. As Regulus' brother he'd been attracting a certain amount of extra attention in the past week or so, and he knew that plenty of the children of Aurors had been experiencing the same since the Christmas attack.

"Have you been telling people?" he muttered into his palms.

"Of course I haven't!" Rani answered indignantly, not bothering to keep her voice down. "It's the damn Slytherins. They're fucking _proud_ of it." She curled her lip in disgust. "The Daily Prophet hasn't helped matters either. There've been more skirmishes with Deatheaters they've been milking for all they're worth." Sirius shook his head. _As though the fact itself wasn't hard enough on her. And everyone._ "He wanted me to tell people, you know," Rani said after a brief silence, drumming her fingertips on the bar and looking at a point somewhere near the ceiling.

"Who did?"

"Dumbledore. He wanted me to spread it around. Said people ought to know." Sirius wrinkled his forehead, bothered by this piece of news.

"Did he? Well… I suppose he's right. It is Dumbledore—if we can't trust him, who else have we got?" Rani made a noncommittal noise in her throat.

"I dunno. I don't like it. And he seemed… worried. Really worried, but he wouldn't entirely let on. This 'Dark Lord' rubbish… seems like there's really something to it now, doesn't there." It was a statement, rather than a question, and Sirius was left with no other response but to nod morosely. He had hoped to keep Rani from brooding for at least a few hours tonight, but she'd been nearly as bad as her brother for the past couple days. With good reason—Kingsley was taking the betrayal of his best friend just as hard as might be expected. Still, the evening was beginning to take a positively downward turn. He glanced around for the bartender again, thinking some sort of alcohol might perk them both up, but he was nowhere in sight now.

"What in the name of Merlin's left testicle does a guy gotta do to get some Firewhiskey around here?" bellowed a particularly drunken, older wizard as he lurched up to the bar not far from where they sat. He was not the only one beginning to get disgruntled; mutterings up and down the place had started to escalate, and still no sign of the owner of the pub that had been so attentive to Sirius the night he had run for help for Rani.

"Do you want to leave?" Sirius asked Rani, as she was jostled on one side by a rather large witch and on the other by a pair of rowdy fourth years that had decided to join the gathering crowd.

"No, I really want a drink," she answered, "I'll bet you anything old Aberforth is in that back room of his, doing some sort of dodgy deal." She glanced up and down the bar, and a little glint came back into her eye. "Dare you to snag a handle."

"What?"

"A handle. Of Ogden's Olde."

"Firewhiskey?" She nodded. Sirius stared at her for a minute, then started to grin. "Only if you provide a distraction. I'm sure it's spelled against Accio charms; I'll have to grab it by hand." Rani flashed him a devilish look.

"Deal. I'm sure I can manage some sort of diversion. Meet you outside in ten minutes?" Sirius gave her a cheeky wink in response and eased off his barstool, trying to melt into the modest-sized crowd around them. He glanced back over his shoulder as he edged towards the end of the bar, curious as to what sort of diversion Rani would manage. His look back was just in time to see Rani stand and lean around the wizard in front of her, deliver a swift punch to the kidneys of the wizard standing next to _him_, and then duck down as the wounded man gave a roar and swung around in search of his assailant.

It was instant mayhem. Rani was laughing as she crouched beneath the lip of the bar, observing her handiwork as the punches started flying, closely followed by jinxes.

Sirius stood with his mouth open for about two seconds before he composed himself, dropped to his knees and hastily crawled behind the bar. Aberforth was a shrewd enough barman that he knew the dispositions of his patrons tended towards the more thieving, but very few in the wizarding world expected any attack that was not magical. So, instead of bothering with his wand Sirius simply reached up, groping for the glass bottle of Ogden's Olde he knew to be on the lower shelf.

No sooner did he remove the handle from its place than a wailing noise began, loud enough to pierce the ears of anyone within twenty yards, theoretically deterring any sticky-fingered Hogwarts student whom might be after the liquor. Not a Black, however. The brawlers barely looked up at the noise, but he didn't wait around to see if and when Aberforth would emerge to reclaim his property. Sirius bolted with the Ogden's, pausing only long enough to slip the money he'd had at the ready ever since Rani suggested this stunt beneath the edge of the cashbox on the way out.

* * *

"One of us," Rani declared with a slur, "Is going to get frostbite. This is ridiculous."

"Nah. You can't possibly get frostbite when you're this warm and… fuzzy on the inside." Sirius put his hands to his flushed cheeks, imagining he could feel their warmth through his gloves. In reality his fingers were probably too numb to feel much of anything. Rani actually giggled.

"Fuzzy on the inside. That would feel rather odd, wouldn't it? Your intestines would be cuddly." They looked at each other in silence for a second, then burst out laughing, nearly falling off the fence they perched on. The Firewhiskey was buried at their feet in the snow, half empty.

"We should go explore," Rani declared abruptly as their chortles subsided.

"Where?" Sirius replied, with a slight hiccup. Rani jerked her head at the ominous building looming on the hilltop behind them.

"There, silly. The Shrieking Shack. I've always wanted to go in, but I never managed to convince Andy. It'd be wicked creepy. And possibly warmer," she added as an afterthought. Even in his drunkenness Sirius blanched at the suggestion. His thoughts flashed to Lupin, and he shook his head.

"Mmm. Doesn't sound that interesting to me."

"Why not?" It was the first time Sirius had heard Rani speak in a tone that resembled a whine, and he raised his eyebrows at her. She pursed her lips in a pout, but kept slipping up and nearly grinning so that her mouth merely looked as though it were twitching. "I always sort of wanted to have, like, a concert there."

"A concert?" She nodded unsteadily and adjusted her grip on the railing before answering.

"Guitar, you know. Stuff doesn't work around Hogwarts, but if I got some blokes together, came out here, and sort of commandeered the Shrieking Shack… Nightclub style, you know. It'd be quite awesome, wouldn't it? _Shenanigans at the Shrieking Shack: Come prepared to scream your head off_." Sirius tilted his head to one side, considering.

"One," he said, attempting to scoot closer and causing the fence to wobble dangerously instead, "It is incredibly sexy that you play guitar, and I demand a personal concert in the near future. Two," here he started snickering and was unable to stop, "Your concert title sounds rather like a Muggle porno." She opened her mouth indignantly, then relented.

"Alright, fair enough. Though how you know the titles of Muggle pornos I do _not_ want to find out. But I still say we go explore—c'mon, it'll be an adventure!"

Sirius pulled a disgruntled face, scooting closer still. "I want to celebrate the New Year in the traditional way," he insisted, raising his eyebrows suggestively. She wrinkled her nose, the sapphire stud of her piercing glinting in the moonlight.

"Traditional?"

"Yeah. Isn't there something about kissing at midnight?"

"Oooh." Rani broke into a grin, her adventuring temporarily forgotten. "Well, I suppose that would be sort of wicked too…" She trailed off as the two of them leaned closer. Their lips were less than an inch apart when Rani suddenly lost her balance, pulling Sirius down as they fell backward into the snow.

"Oooow," she groaned, feebly sitting halfway up.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked anxiously, struggling to sit up himself. Rani stared at him, and for a minute Sirius thought she'd seriously injured her head. Then she started to giggle again, the slow amusement of one who is completely sauced.

"The snow… It looks as though you're St. Nick!" She started to cackle, rolling in the snow as though making some sort of demented angel. Slowly Sirius began to laugh again too, and the two of them huddled in the frigid damp of the snow, howling with mirth. Gradually, slowly, their laughter died. Sirius looked at Rani, soaking wet, her eyelashes crystalline with melted snowflakes and her hair a mess beneath its woolen cap. She stopped chuckling and looked back at him, the smile fading from her lips. Sirius leaned forward and kissed her.

It was quite a nice kiss, warm and wanton and completely forbidden, out there in the frigid yard of the Shrieking Shack. All in all, it was a fine way to bring in the new year. But Rani yelped as Sirius put pressure on her ribs and he pulled back, putting space between them.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed guiltily. She didn't answer, just lay where he'd left her, staring at the stars and holding her ribs. Her face had lost all expression as she blinked upward.

"I wonder what Mum and Dad are doing. And Kings. And Regulus," she said, almost inaudibly. Even in a sober state, Sirius would not have known what to say to that. He could only sit and wait, watching her and absentmindedly tracing the outline of her mitten in the snow.

"Sirius," Rani said, after a long silence. Her eyes were half closed in a drowsy sort of way as she finally turned to look at him. "Can we go home now?"


End file.
